Changing the practice of pathology

We continually invest in cutting-edge, transformative clinical capabilities to improve patient care. Our multiphase digital pathology initiative will integrate digital infrastructure to facilitate new clinical, research, and education opportunities. Delivering digital workflows for patient care will streamline manual processes and expand patient access to Mayo Clinic expertise while growing our digital knowledge repository, thereby delivering best-in-class datasets to train algorithmic and machine learning solutions.

The digital pathology initiative will further enhance patient-specimen identification and reduce occurrences of lost or damaged slides, improving overall patient care. Faster diagnostics, workflow efficiencies, reproducible results, and cost savings will benefit both providers and patients, as well.

Learn about digital pathology best practices for your institution.

Frequently asked questions

What is the business case for implementing digital pathology?

We expect the benefits of our new digital pathology initiative to include:

• Faster diagnoses
• Workflow efficiencies
• Cost savings
• Reproducible results

Please note that investment costs will vary according to institutional scope and approach.

What subspecialty case types will be supported?

Our initial digital pathology consultation service will support most tissue-based case types.

Based on early diagnostic concordance findings, some tissue-based case types are excluded at this time, including:

• Medical renal biopsies
• Neuropathology
• Cases with cytopathology
• Frozen sections
• Non-FFPE hematopathology

What digital pathology solutions does Mayo Clinic recommend?

We have taken a vendor-agnostic approach; however, DICOM or SVS file formats are preferred for whole slide images.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories uses the Leica/Aperio GT450 scanner with the Sectra digital pathology system, integrated with the SCC Soft LIS.

When will the digital pathology consultation service be available to my institution?

The digital pathology consultation program is currently in pilot stage. The pilot program will inform our approach and timeline for offering the digital pathology consultation solution to all Mayo Clinic Laboratories clients.