System and method for quality assurance in pathology
Enhancing color(s) in a digital slide image to increase contrast. In an embodiment, a digital slide image of a tissue sample is acquired. The tissue sample is counterstained, such that the digital slide image comprises an image of a first stain and a second stain. The contrast between the first stain and the second stain is increased to enhance the digital slide image.
1. A method comprising using at least one hardware processor to:
acquire a digital slide image of a tissue sample that is counterstained with at least a first stain and a second stain, such that the digital slide image comprises an image of the first stain and the second stain; and
increase a contrast between the first stain and the second stain within the digital slide image to enhance the digital slide image.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein increasing the contrast between the first stain and the second stain comprises changing a color of at least one of the first stain and the second stain.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the at least one hardware processor to, prior to increasing the contrast, automatically determine whether or not a quality of the digital slide image is sufficient for diagnosis.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining whether or not a quality of the digital slide image is sufficient for diagnosis comprises comparing one or more characteristics of the digital slide image to a predetermined set of one or more criteria.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein increasing the contrast is performed automatically when the determination is that the quality of the digital slide image is sufficient.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the at least one hardware processor to input the enhanced digital slide image into a clinical decision support system that guides a user through an interpretation of the tissue sample to arrive at a diagnosis.
7. A system comprising:
at least one hardware processor; and
one or more software modules that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor,
acquire a digital slide image of a tissue sample that is counterstained with at least a first stain and a second stain, such that the digital slide image comprises an image of the first stain and the second stain, and
increase a contrast between the first stain and the second stain within the digital slide image to enhance the digital slide image.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein increasing the contrast between the first stain and the second stain comprises changing a color of at least one of the first stain and the second stain.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more software modules, prior to increasing the contrast, automatically determine whether or not a quality of the digital slide image is sufficient for diagnosis.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein determining whether or not a quality of the digital slide image is sufficient for diagnosis comprises comparing one or more characteristics of the digital slide image to a predetermined set of one or more criteria.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more software modules increase the contrast automatically when the determination is that the quality of the digital slide image is sufficient.
12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more software modules input the enhanced digital slide image into a clinical decision support system that guides a user through an interpretation of the tissue sample to arrive at a diagnosis.
13. The system of claim 7 , wherein the at least one hardware processor is comprised in a slide scanner.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more software modules are stored in a memory of the slide scanner.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
acquire a digital slide image of a tissue sample that is counterstained with at least a first stain and a second stain, such that the digital slide image comprises an image of the first stain and the second stain; and
increase a contrast between the first stain and the second stain within the digital slide image to enhance the digital slide image.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein increasing the contrast between the first stain and the second stain comprises changing a color of at least one of the first stain and the second stain.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to, prior to increasing the contrast, automatically determine whether or not a quality of the digital slide image is sufficient for diagnosis.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein determining whether or not a quality of the digital slide image is sufficient for diagnosis comprises comparing one or more characteristics of the digital slide image to a predetermined set of one or more criteria.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to increase the contrast automatically when the determination is that the quality of the digital slide image is sufficient.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to input the enhanced digital slide image into a clinical decision support system that guides a user through an interpretation of the tissue sample to arrive at a diagnosis.