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The use of digital microscopy as a teaching method for human pathology: a systematic review

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Abstract

Since digital microscopy (DM) has become a useful alternative to conventional light microscopy (CLM), several approaches have been used to evaluate students’ performance and perception. This systematic review aimed to integrate data regarding the use of DM for education in human pathology, determining whether this technology can be an adequate learning tool, and an appropriate method to evaluate students’ performance. Following a specific search strategy and eligibility criteria, three electronic databases were searched and several articles were screened. Eight studies involving medical and dental students were included. The test of performance comprised diagnostic and microscopic description, clinical features, differential, and final diagnoses of the specimens. The students’ achievements were equivalent, similar or higher using DM in comparison with CLM in four studies. All publications employed question surveys to assess the students’ perceptions, especially regarding the easiness of equipment use, quality of images, and preference for one method. Seven studies (87.5%) indicated the students’ support of DM as an appropriate method for learning. The quality assessment categorized most studies as having a low bias risk (75%). This study presents the efficacy of DM for human pathology education, although the high heterogeneity of the included articles did not permit outlining a specific method of performance evaluation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral Diagnosis Department, Semiology and Oral Pathology Areas, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Av. Limeira, 901, Bairro Areão, Piracicaba, São Paulo, 13414-903, Brazil

    Carla Isabelly Rodrigues-Fernandes, Anna Luíza Damaceno Araújo, Felipe Paiva Fonseca, Márcio Ajudarte Lopes, Oslei Paes de Almeida, Pablo Agustin Vargas & Alan Roger Santos-Silva

  2. Unit of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Paul M. Speight & Syed Ali Khurram

  3. Department of Clinical and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Danyel Elias da Cruz Perez

  4. Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Felipe Paiva Fonseca

  5. Department of Oral Pathology and Oral biology, School of Dentistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Felipe Paiva Fonseca & Pablo Agustin Vargas

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  1. Carla Isabelly Rodrigues-Fernandes
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Correspondence to Alan Roger Santos-Silva.

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All authors contributed significantly to the conception, design, and execution of this study, as well as the retrieval, assessment, and interpretation of results. The draft and the final version of the manuscript was reviewed and approved by all parts. The authors also state that the study is original, has not been published elsewhere, and has been submitted only to the Virchows Archiv.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Quality in Pathology

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Supplementary Table 1.

Methodological features of the articles fully assessed in this study. (XLSX 14 kb)

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Rodrigues-Fernandes, C.I., Speight, P.M., Khurram, S.A. et al. The use of digital microscopy as a teaching method for human pathology: a systematic review. Virchows Arch 477, 475–486 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-020-02908-3

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