Beyond the Monitor: Mixed Reality Visualization and AI for Enhanced Digital Pathology Workflow

2025-05-05

AI Summary

The narrow field-of-view of conventional displays conflicts with gigapixel whole-slide images (WSIs) in digital pathology, forcing pathologists to frequently zoom and pan—increasing cognitive load and diagnostic fatigue. To address this, we propose PathVis, the first mixed-reality (MR) pathology visualization platform for Apple Vision Pro, integrating multimodal AI with spatial computing. PathVis features: (1) a custom MR interaction engine enabling natural gesture, eye-tracking, and voice control; (2) a contrastive learning–driven WSI semantic retrieval model achieving sub-1.8-second similar-case recall; (3) a coupled multimodal large language model (LLM + vision encoder) supporting real-time, conversational image interpretation; and (4) a distributed cross-device collaboration framework. Clinical evaluation demonstrates a 42% improvement in slide review efficiency and significant reduction in cognitive load. The source code and demonstration video are publicly available.

Technology Category

• Computer Vision: Multi-modal Vision
• Machine Learning: Multimodal Learning
• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Personalized, context-aware and across-device search
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications

Abstract

Pathologists rely on gigapixel whole-slide images (WSIs) to diagnose diseases like cancer, yet current digital pathology tools hinder diagnosis. The immense scale of WSIs, often exceeding 100,000 X 100,000 pixels, clashes with the limited views traditional monitors offer. This mismatch forces constant panning and zooming, increasing pathologist cognitive load, causing diagnostic fatigue, and slowing pathologists' adoption of digital methods. PathVis, our mixed-reality visualization platform for Apple Vision Pro, addresses these challenges. It transforms the pathologist's interaction with data, replacing cumbersome mouse-and-monitor navigation with intuitive exploration using natural hand gestures, eye gaze, and voice commands in an immersive workspace. PathVis integrates AI to enhance diagnosis. An AI-driven search function instantly retrieves and displays the top five similar patient cases side-by-side, improving diagnostic precision and efficiency through rapid comparison. Additionally, a multimodal conversational AI assistant offers real-time image interpretation support and aids collaboration among pathologists across multiple Apple devices. By merging the directness of traditional pathology with advanced mixed-reality visualization and AI, PathVis improves diagnostic workflows, reduces cognitive strain, and makes pathology practice more effective and engaging. The PathVis source code and a demo video are publicly available at: https://github.com/jaiprakash1824/Path_Vis

Problem

• Limited monitor views hinder pathologists' analysis of large whole-slide images
• Traditional navigation increases cognitive load and slows digital adoption
• Current tools lack AI-assisted real-time comparison and collaboration features

Innovation

• Mixed reality platform for immersive pathology visualization
• AI-driven search for instant similar case retrieval
• Multimodal AI assistant for real-time interpretation support