Digital Pathology

Brief instructions for slide scanning form:

  1. Log in with Level 2 password
  2. Use ONE row per slide
  3. If you have a barcode scanner, you may position the cursor in the "barcode" field and read the 2D datamatrix barcode located on Michigan Medicine slides only.
  4. Click "Save, Print, & Submit Request" button. 
  5. Bring slides AND request form printout to the drop-off area in NCRC Building 35, G432 Area "G".
  6. What if I work on main campus? How do I get my slides to NCRC?

Access slide scanning request form here.

Detailed instructions:

  • Log in to the Pathology Clinical Lab Portal.
  • Click "Applications" and choose "Slide Scan Requests."
  • "Attending or PI name" - Click the small "Find" button below the "Attending" field. SLOWLY type your PI's last name. When your PI's full name appears in the list, click it.  (The next time you log in, your PI's name should appear in the drop-down list by clicking the "Attending or PI name" field.)
  • "Your uniqname" - will appear automatically, since you've logged in to the Portal.
  • "Group" - This is a set of subdivisions created by us. Choose the Group most appropriate to your purposes. If you're not sure, take your best guess; you're welcome to inquire with us later.
  • "Conference" - ONLY choose an item within this field if you are putting in a request for a Tumor Board or other conference.  You are NOT required to enter a value for this field simply because it becomes active.
  • "Date" - If you are requesting slide scans for a conference, choose the date of the conference
  • "Magnification" - Ninety-five percent of our requests are for 40X magnification. When in doubt, choose 40X.
  • "U of M Virtual Slide Box" - Clicking the "Yes" radio button will cause a flag to appear in our system, informing us that you want your scans pushed to the VSB.  In general, click "No." Faculty or residents/fellows should be communicating as necessary to their designees whether they wish to have slides pushed to the VSB. The VSB is intended for clinical teaching example slides, not research slides.
  • "Barcode" - Only use this field if both of the following apply: 1) you have access to a barcode reader, and 2) if you have U-M slides to scan, with a 2D "datamatrix" bar code on the label. If you can, position your cursor within the "Barcode" field and scan the slide label. Most fields will auto-populate when you scan the barcode, with the exception of "Diagnosis." So this can be a time-saver when filling out the form.
  • "U of M Accession" - Should always be included.  If doing manual entry, please be certain to type it in the syntax of AA-00-00000 (two alpha characters, hyphen, two numbers, hyphen, and then the remaining numbers).
  • "Outside Accession" - If an outside case, please include. This is especially important for slides bearing labels with only the outside institution's accession number.  We always need to be able to match any given glass slide with a U-M accession number on the form.
  • "Block" - Enter using one letter and one number, without hyphens or spaces, e.g., "A1," not "A-1" or "A 1."  Non-UM slides may differ significantly in Block ID syntax, i.e., they may have just a single number. Do your best.
  • "Species," "Site/Organ," and "Stain" - Fairly self-explanatory. Note that our list of stains is extensive, so the nine most commonly chosen stains are always listed in the left-hand column of the pop-up window (Fig. 1).  You can scroll through the list of stains or type in the search box.  

 

      Fig. 1 stain drop down.jpg       Fig. 2     dx drop down.jpg

  • "Diagnosis" - To make data entry easier, some common diagnoses for certain subspecialties can be called up by beginning to type the name of the dx. In Fig 2, "endo" has been typed in the Diagnosis field. The resulting popup shows all diagnoses beginning with "endo."  Using this feature is optional; the dx may be typed in independently.
  • "Add Row" - Adds a blank row.
  • "Dup Row" - Adds a new row containing all information in the preceding row, with the exception of the stain.  Handy for cases with an H&E and several immunohistochemistry stains.
  • "Del Row" - Deletes the row where the button is clicked.
  • "Comments" - For any messages or special requests for the DP Core.
  • "Save, Print, and Submit" - Click when ready to submit. You get a pop-up saying your request has been submitted electronically. Then you will get a print dialog box. Print the form, bring with the slides to the drop-off point in NCRC Building 35, G432 Area "G".
  • "Save for Later" - Click this button if you need to stop work in the middle of completing the form and come back to it later.
  • "Export Data" - All information in the form is exported in a .csv format, suitable for archiving. Handy if managing large numbers of scans. Enables querying to determine what has and has not been scanned.

Features and notes:

  • The web form's layout is primarily intended for clinical slides.  Researchers do not need to feel obligated to fill in non-applicable fields; these may, as appropriate, be filled in as "N/A."
  • Reminder: the "Barcode" field is only used if you have 1) a barcode reader and 2) are scanning U-M slides with a 2D datamatrix barcode.
  • Clicking the "Save for Later" button will enable you to log back in at a later time and open the form back up to add additional entries.
  • The system will save all of your past requests for retrieval at any time.  To review, log in to the system and click "Open Saved or Submitted Request."
  • Typing within the Diagnosis field will bring up a drop-down menu of common dx.  If you would like a dx added to this list, please contact us.
  • "Block ID:"  please use a one-alpha and one-number format if possible, e.g., "A1". Some non-UM slides will have alternate block ID forms.  In these cases, enter what is present on the label to the best of your ability.
  • For cases with multiple IHC stains, click the "Dup Row" button.  This will add a new row, duplicating all information in the previous row EXCEPT the stain.