Method integrates whole-slide imaging, image serving, registration, and visualization

WEDNESDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- A novel method of three-dimensional (3D) histological reconstruction has been developed, according to a study published online April 11 in The American Journal of Pathology.

Nicholas Roberts, from the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine in the United Kingdom, and colleagues developed a new system for 3D histological reconstruction, integrating whole-slide imaging, image serving, registration, and visualization in one software package.

The researchers report that the novel method of slice-to-slice image registration uses automatic registration algorithms, which are designed for both virtual slides and histopathological images, and produces high-resolution images with minimal user interaction. The system has used 5,500 virtual slides, which included 1.45 TB of primary image data, and has been applied to more than 300 separate 3D volumes from eight tissue types. The measured registration accuracy of 3D reconstruction approached 120 µm for a 1-cm piece of tissue.

"We report a novel means of 3D histological reconstruction," the authors write. "We have also demonstrated that this software is accurate and robust because we have achieved qualitatively similar results from a range of different tissues, embedding autostains and histochemical stains, using serial and step sections. We propose that this system provides the opportunity for increasing the use of 3D histopathological analysis as a routine research tool."

Abstract (http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ajpa/article/S0002-9440(12)00168-X/abstract )Full Text (subscription or payment may be required) (http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ajpa/article/S0002-9440(12)00168-X/fulltext )