Artificial Intelligence in Pathology: Advancing Large Models for Scalable Applications

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has had a significant impact on medical research, introducing new possibilities for pathology studies. There is a recent trend of applying large-scale AI models to many fields, and this trend has given rise to the pathology foundation models and pathology ensemble models. Large models in pathology are not standalone innovations; they build upon a legacy where AI has consistently played a vital role in pathology studies long before their advent. Numerous pathology datasets and AI models have been developed to support advancements in the field, with these combined efforts paving the way for the emergence of large models in pathology. AI greatly enhances pathology studies, yet its widespread use in sensitive applications also raises significant ethical concerns, including privacy risks. In this review, we summarize the datasets and models that are useful to pathology studies, with a particular focus on how they illuminate the path toward large-scale applications.