[Virtual microscopy and routine diagnostics. A discussion paper].

There are several areas of application for virtual microscopy in pathology. After broad use in education and research, we are now seeing its initial application in health care. We can predict that, on the basis of experience gained in digital radiology and early experience in pathology, VM will be established as routine. However, its introduction will follow a different course to that taken in digital radiology, which required that the computer be accepted as a "necessary evil" to record and display computer tomograms. Virtual microscopy needs to ensure that it supports the pathologist significantly in terms of access to archives, quantification of markers, display of biopsy stacks, cooperation with colleagues, etc. Consequently, the question of "When will virtual microscopy enter daily pathology practice?" may not only be answered on the basis of technical features. Of course, it is necessary that scanning speed goes below 1 min/cm(2) and that it remains financially viable, but more important is an optimal integration of virtual microscopy in daily pathology routine. This process will extend over several decades, as past developments in digital radiology have shown.