Can automatic image analysis replace the pathologist in cardiac allograft rejection diagnosis?

Abstract

Hypothetical workflow of cardiac allograft rejection diagnostics after implementation of recent developments. New noninvasive screening methods for rejection diagnostics are being developed, such as detection of donor-specific and non-HLA (human leucocyte antigen) antibodies, leucocyte gene expression profiling, and circulating donor-derived cell-free DNA (ddcfDNA). When a rejection is suspected, endomyocardial biopsy is performed. New tissue gene expression analysis methods can help improve the precision and accuracy of diagnosis. The microscope of the pathologist is replaced by a fully digital workflow where automated computational pathology such as CACHE can help pathologists to come to better and more standardized diagnoses.This figure was created using images from Servier Medical Art (https://smart.servier.com), which are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.