{"entity":{"id":"whole-slide-scanners","kind":"technology","name":"Whole-slide scanners and image management","aka":[],"tldr":"The scanners that turn glass slides into gigapixel images, and the software that stores and serves them, without which pathology AI cannot run.","summary":"Leica Biosystems (Aperio GT 450), Hamamatsu (NanoZoomer), 3DHISTECH (Pannoramic), Philips (IntelliSite; FDA-cleared for primary diagnosis 2017), Roche (VENTANA DP 600), and Grundium supply scanners; Sectra, Philips, Proscia (Concentriq), PathAI (AISight), Indica Labs (HALO), and Paige provide image management and viewing. Interoperability (DICOM-WSI) and storage costs (1-4 GB per slide) are the practical constraints on going fully digital.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"FDA allows marketing of first whole slide imaging system for digital pathology (2017)","url":"https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-allows-marketing-first-whole-slide-imaging-system-digital-pathology"}],"tags":["supporting"],"related":["flow-cytometers"],"cancers":[],"sections":["diagnostics","ai-computation"],"technologies":["digital-pathology-ai","pathology-foundation-model"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["leica-biosystems","hamamatsu","3dhistech","philips","roche-genentech","sectra","proscia","indica-labs"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Automated microscopy tiles a slide at 20-40x, then stitches and compresses it into a pyramidal image; image management platforms index, stream, and integrate with LIS/EHR and AI.","strengths":["Remote sign-out, second opinions, AI-ready archives"],"limitations":["Storage and network cost","Scanner-to-scanner colour and focus variation affects AI","Workflow change management"]},"route":"/technologies/whole-slide-scanners/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"digital-pathology-ai","kind":"technology","name":"Digital pathology & AI","route":"/technologies/digital-pathology-ai/"},{"id":"flow-cytometers","kind":"technology","name":"Flow cytometers","route":"/technologies/flow-cytometers/"},{"id":"ihc-autostainers-histology-automation","kind":"technology","name":"Histology automation and IHC autostainers","route":"/technologies/ihc-autostainers-histology-automation/"},{"id":"pathology-foundation-model","kind":"technology","name":"Pathology & radiology foundation models","route":"/technologies/pathology-foundation-model/"},{"id":"telemedicine-teleoncology","kind":"technology","name":"Telemedicine, teleoncology, and telepathology","route":"/technologies/telemedicine-teleoncology/"}],"section":[{"id":"ai-computation","kind":"section","name":"AI & Computation","route":"/fronts/ai-computation/"},{"id":"diagnostics","kind":"section","name":"Diagnostics & Biomarkers","route":"/fronts/diagnostics/"}],"company":[{"id":"3dhistech","kind":"company","name":"3DHISTECH","route":"/companies/3dhistech/"},{"id":"hamamatsu","kind":"company","name":"Hamamatsu Photonics","route":"/companies/hamamatsu/"},{"id":"indica-labs","kind":"company","name":"Indica Labs","route":"/companies/indica-labs/"},{"id":"leica-biosystems","kind":"company","name":"Leica Biosystems (Danaher)","route":"/companies/leica-biosystems/"},{"id":"philips","kind":"company","name":"Philips","route":"/companies/philips/"},{"id":"proscia","kind":"company","name":"Proscia","route":"/companies/proscia/"},{"id":"roche-genentech","kind":"company","name":"Roche / Genentech","route":"/companies/roche-genentech/"},{"id":"sectra","kind":"company","name":"Sectra","route":"/companies/sectra/"}],"drug":[{"id":"paige-prostate","kind":"drug","name":"Paige Prostate Detect","route":"/drugs/paige-prostate/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"ai-oncology-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"AI in oncology roadmap: pattern readers → foundation models → agents in the workflow","route":"/roadmaps/ai-oncology-roadmap/"},{"id":"diagnostics-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Diagnostics roadmap: stains → gene panels → blood tests that decide treatment","route":"/roadmaps/diagnostics-roadmap/"}],"term":[{"id":"digital-pathology-wsi","kind":"term","name":"Digital pathology and whole-slide images (WSI)","route":"/terms/digital-pathology-wsi/"}]}}