No More Microscopes. How close are we to glassless pathology? | w/ Dr. Richard Levenson, UC Davis Health

Can pathology be truly digital without getting rid of glass?

In this  episode with Dr. Richard Levenson, Professor and Vice Chair for Strategic Technologies at the Pathology Department of UC Davis, you’ll learn how close we are to “glassless pathology” and other digital innovations that could transform the field.

In this episode we cover:

With an eclectic background spanning English literature, medical school, research, and even a tech startup, Richard brings unique expertise in digital pathology. At UC Davis, he's pioneering new microscopy methods like MUSE and FIBI that enable imaging thick tissue sections without slides or stains.

You may also know Richard for his famously viral research training pigeons to detect cancer in pathology slides. As he explains, “Pigeons have the skills to tell...tiny, tiny pattern differences” critical for pathological diagnosis. This project brought fun and creativity to his lab, even as they push new frontiers in glassless pathology.

His company Histolix is commercializing the glassless pathology approach, which Richard envisions bringing pathology on par with radiology’s direct-to-digital workflow. Their validation study already achieved 97% concordance between glassless and standard H&E reads. As Richard explains, these techniques “open up the possibility for rapid intraoperative diagnosis without freezing or sectioning.”

Combined with AI, innovations like these could automate workflow steps like staining, analysis, and prioritization. However, as their recent paper explores, AI does pose risks. Richard believes we must tread carefully, using human oversight and judgment to guide implementation. Still, he sees great potential to augment diagnostics with computational tools.

There’s no better guide to exploring these frontiers than Richard. Tune into the full conversation using the link above for an insightful tour of digital pathology’s cutting edge. Check Histolix for the latest on their research, and access key publications from Richard’s lab through the links below. Where will you help take pathology next?

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