Whole Slide Image Tiling and Buffering for Artifact-Free Viewing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional whole slide imaging (WSI) systems face challenges in providing the necessary clarity and speed for pathologists to accurately diagnose conditions due to large image file sizes exceeding hardware limits, slow image delivery, and inadequate buffering techniques that result in visual artifacts.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for improved WSI that subdivides whole slide images into multiple resolution layers and tiles, assigning cache addresses in RAM, and dynamically allocates GPU resources for real-time rendering and buffering, minimizing unnecessary transactions and optimizing bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional image viewers precache whole slide images, then image availability is improved, but hardware limits are exceeded and prechaching becomes impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the entire slide image into multiple smaller tiles at different resolution levels. Instead of loading the complete high-resolution image at once, the system loads only the necessary tiles for the current view region, reducing memory requirements while maintaining image availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a multi-resolution dimension by providing tiles at different resolution levels (e.g., 4x, 8x, 16x downsampled versions). This allows the system to serve the same view region with progressively lower resolution data, reducing bandwidth and memory usage while maintaining diagnostic quality when needed.
2Speed
If conventional image viewers buffer images in tile-based format, then speed is improved, but clarity is compromised due to visual artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different buffering strategies to different regions of the slide based on their importance. Critical regions (current view and immediate surroundings) are buffered at high resolution, while less critical regions use lower resolution tiles. This ensures clarity where needed while maintaining speed through selective buffering.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-buffers tiles in advance based on predicted user navigation patterns, ensuring that high-quality image data is ready before the user actually needs it. This preliminary action reduces rendering latency while maintaining image quality through proactive data preparation.
3Manufacturing precision
If high-resolution image rendering is used, then diagnostic clarity is improved, but image delivery speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the resolution level of tiles loaded and displayed based on the user's current view region and interaction history. When users zoom in or navigate to specific areas, the system loads higher-resolution tiles for those regions while maintaining lower-resolution tiles for other areas, optimizing the balance between clarity and speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the resolution parameter of image tiles based on contextual factors such as zoom level, view position, and user interaction patterns. This parameter adaptation allows the system to deliver high clarity when needed while maintaining fast delivery speeds through lower-resolution alternatives for less critical viewing conditions.
4Quantity of substance
If conventional image viewers handle large image files, then completeness is improved, but processing time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the large image file into smaller tiles, the system processes and loads only the necessary portions rather than the entire image. This segmentation approach maintains completeness of the full slide when needed while dramatically reducing processing time for individual tile operations and initial loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary processing by pre-generating and pre-buffering tiles in advance, so that when users need to view specific regions, the data is already prepared and ready for immediate display. This eliminates the need for real-time processing of large image portions, reducing interactive processing time significantly.
Data Source
AI summary
Technologies for improved whole slide imaging (WSI) are disclosed. An example method includes receiving a whole slide image file comprised of image data corresponding to a tissue sample, wherein the whole slide image file includes one or more resolution layers that each include one or more tiles. The example method further includes determining a current view region of a portion of the whole slide image file at a user interface, and determining a tile status for each tile within the current view region. The example method further includes subdividing buffering requirements into one or more buffering transactions, wherein each buffering transaction corresponds to at least one tile of the one or more tiles within the current buffer region that has a cached tile status; and rendering, at the user interface, each tile within the current view region with an already buffered tile status for viewing by a user.