Whole slide imaging (WSI) allows generation of large whole slide images and their navigation with zoom in and out like a true virtual microscope. It has become widely used in surgical pathology for many purposes, such as education and training, research activity, teleconsultation, and primary diagnosis. However, in cytopathology, the use of WSI has been lagging behind histology, mainly due to the cytological specimen's characteristics, as groups of cells of different thickness are distributed throughout the slide. To allow the same focusing capability of light microscope, slides have to be scanned at multiple focal planes, at the cost of longer scan times and larger file size. These are the main technical pitfalls of WSI for cytopathology, partly overcome by solutions like liquid‐based preparations. Validation studies for the use in primary diagnosis are less numerous and more heterogeneous than in surgical pathology. WSI has been proved effective for training students and successfully used in proficiency testing, allowing the creation of digital cytology atlases. Longer scan times are also a barrier for use in rapid on‐site evaluation, but WSI retains its advantages of easy sharing of images for consultation, multiple simultaneous viewing in different locations, the possibility of unlimited annotations and easy integration with medical records. Moreover, digital slides set the laboratory free from reliance on a physical glass slide, with no more concern of fading of stain or slide breakage. Costs are still a problem for small institutions, but WSI can also represent the beginning of a more efficient way of working.

中文翻译：

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细胞病理学中使用全玻片成像的现状：优点和缺点。

全玻片成像 (WSI) 允许生成大型全玻片图像及其导航，就像真正的虚拟显微镜一样放大和缩小。它已广泛应用于外科病理学，用于多种目的，例如教育和培训、研究活动、远程会诊和初步诊断。然而，在细胞病理学中，WSI 的使用一直落后于组织学，这主要是由于细胞学标本的特征，因为不同厚度的细胞组分布在整个载玻片中。为了获得与光学显微镜相同的聚焦能力，必须在多个焦平面上扫描载玻片，代价是扫描时间更长，文件更大。这些是 WSI 用于细胞病理学的主要技术缺陷，部分被液基制剂等解决方案所克服。与外科病理学相比，用于初步诊断的验证研究数量较少且异质性更大。WSI 已被证明可有效地培训学生并成功用于能力验证，从而可以创建数字细胞学图谱。较长的扫描时间也是快速现场评估的一个障碍，但 WSI 保留了其易于共享图像以供咨询、在不同位置同时进行多个查看、无限注释的可能性以及易于与医疗记录集成的优势。此外，数字载玻片使实验室摆脱了对物理载玻片的依赖，不再担心染色褪色或载玻片破损。对于小型机构来说，成本仍然是一个问题，但 WSI 也可以代表一种更有效的工作方式的开始。