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Digital Microscopy at the University of Michigan School of Medicine
Author(s) -
Velkey Matthew,
Craig Ron A.,
Stoolman Lloyd M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a596-b
Subject(s) - virtual microscopy , zoom , digital pathology , curriculum , computer science , medical education , microscopy , multimedia , medical physics , medicine , psychology , artificial intelligence , pathology , physics , optics , pedagogy , lens (geology)
Digital microscopy (DM) is the practice of converting entire glass microscope slides to high‐resolution digital images that can be remotely viewed, readily annotated, and shared without the need for traditional microscopy (TM). Slides are line‐scanned at high resolution using a computer controlled microscope and digitally compiled into a single image that may be viewed in a manner that recapitulates the experience of TM (e.g. panning and zooming on any region of interest at a range of magnifications). We have assembled a virtual slide box to be used for histology and pathology courses in our first and second‐year medical curriculum, and we have initiated its implementation in our M1 histology course. We have also developed an online laboratory manual with hyperlinks to regions of interest and annotations on digital slides for use in didactic sessions as well as asynchronous learning. Ongoing qualitative assessments indicate that students and faculty find this resource to be a valuable part of the histology course whereas quantitatively we have observed very little difference in overall performance of this year's cohort taught primarily with DM as compared to previous cohorts taught with TM, indicating that DM is as effective as TM as an instrument for learning medical histology. Overall, our results suggest that DM is an attractive option that educators should consider when developing or revising medical curricula.