gms | German Medical Science

Curricular reforms efforts and the intake of novel educational strategies are challenging the traditional microscope-based teaching of histology. Thus, online microscopical methods have become en vogue over the last decade. The rapid progress in this technology was driven by research, routine clinical and teaching applications and because of the high analysis throughput rate making it interesting in industrial research.

The history of virtual microscopy dates back to the early 1960s; a broader acceptance of this new technology remained reserved until the late 1990s, mainly since the technological basis is linked to advancements of computer and internet technologies. Currently, storage capacities, processing speeds etc. have made virtual microscopy feasible for the microscopical community, to scientists, pathologists and teachers of histology and pathology. Such, in many instances virtual microscopy already has become a routine tool for microscopists, questioning the way we teach, learn, diagnose and research with microscopic images.

Well-known optical companies now offer smart systems in their assortment; developments direct from the processing of fixed and stained tissues to living unstained cells. Virtual microscopy is a method of digitizing microscope specimens and viewing the produced virtual slides on a computer screen.

Focussing on the use in teaching, virtual microscopy allows viewing of virtual slides by large numbers of students. The virtual slide, as the key component of a virtual microscopy system, allows digital images of whole slides to be easily stored, archived, retrieved, annotated, duplicated, distributed, or integrated into various data sets and viewed over open or private computer networks. Basically in the working out of virtual slides is the truthful reflection of the real histological sections neither loosing any information nor artificially adding false data to the image. Using virtual microscopy, we take advantage of our collections of histological slides providing the best sample for everyone, being simultaneously available for teachers and students.

Thus, advantages of digital slides might be:

• Production of an infinite number of copies for an infinite number of individuals
• use time and location independent
• use by more than one person in more than one location simultaneously
• digital archiving and easy handling in catalogues,
  • availability to everyone
  • classification and easy retrieval by topics
  • providing with annotations
  • interlinking with different disciplines.

These items may lead to a large reduction in the time and expense required to organise and run these sessions and finally to enhanced quality of the earning experience. Digital slide systems for education should consider that image data are deliverable in a form easily accessible by all users and the interface is intuitive and requires little or no training to use. The final data set should combine didactics and practice and monitor student’s progress and reasoning. Students should be guided by annotations, however the system should offer more than one way to use it, and whenever possible, didactic cases should bring context to abstract knowledge. In order to make use of the potentialities the virtual microscope should interact with the teaching and/or learning surrounding in a blended learning principle with clean-cut objectives [1], [2].