Standards for digital pathology and whole slide imaging

Abstract

In this chapter, the goal is to discuss various types of standards which are relevant to digital pathology images, especially whole slide imaging (WSI), discussing the role they play as well as their current status. We will consider standards primarily in relation to their use in the clinical practice of pathology. In the last ten years much work has been done to extend the DICOM medical imaging standard to include additional metadata relevant to pathology images and specimens as well as to accommodate the special requirements of whole slide microscopic images. This work, along with efforts underway in other organizations, such as HL7 and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise are laying the foundations for standards based interoperability in pathology that should allow for integration of digital imaging into the clinical workflow of pathologists.