Figure 4

Software and workflow. The following description illustrates how the mesodissection 2iD software can assist the slide-mounted tissue dissection workflow used in many molecular pathology labs. (1) A pathologist would save a digital picture of a slide-mounted tissue section and then while viewing the tissue section in a standard optical microscope, digitally indicate the AOIs, then save this reference image to a digital database. Alternatively, digital scanning technology can generate the digital image, the AOIs marked, and the reference image saved in either .jpg, .png, or .tif format. To perform the dissection, (2) the reference image is imported from the database and manipulated to match the live image from the slide stage (on right) of a serial tissue section (cut from the same tissue block). (3) The reference image and a picture of the live image are digitally overlaid and the position of the reference image is further manipulated to achieve microscopic alignment. (4) The AOI(s) are selected using color based recognition and transferred to overlay the live image. It is also possible to directly annotate the live image and determine the area of each AOI. (5) As the stage is moved, the digital AOIs move in unison with the live image such that the digital AOIs can be used to guide the dissection process. A gauge indicates remaining xScisor capacity. Proper AOI movement is based on proper calibration of stage movement with the magnification of the digital image. (6) After dissection, a digital report is generated that includes the reference image, pre and post dissected images with AOI, and notes of the process.