Establishing a Digital Slide Database for Advancing Pathology Education through Innovative Modules and AI-Integrated Doctoral Program

Beneficiaries: Tbilisi State Medical University and Caucasus International University

Project Name: Establishing a Digital Slide Database for Advancing Pathology Education through Innovative Modules and AI-Integrated Doctoral Program

Implementation Dates: 07/2024 – 12/2025

Total Project Cost: 533,900.00 GEL

Grant Amount: 516,900.00 GEL

Description

The main goal of the project is to create a digital learning component for classroom teaching in pathology. This involves integrating the digitalization of slides and implementing new algorithms for student evaluation into the educational process. Additionally, the project aims to develop a doctoral program based on artificial intelligence components.

The mentioned goal will be achieved by performing the following tasks:

• Modernization of the infrastructure of the educational-scientific and diagnostic laboratory of pathology through the acquisition of a digital scanner for slides;
• Digitization of archival and current case slides by means of a scanner and formation of a database with an emphasis on the curriculum;
• Interactive transformation of digital slides of pathologies corresponding to the syllabus – by separating the diagnostic components on the image and annotating them in Georgian;
• Creation of a website where the above-mentioned interactive digital slides will be placed and will be available to students and residents in the so-called for self-learning;
• Integration of innovative elements in the educational process by developing new algorithms for evaluation and self-assessment;
• Integration of interactive digital slides in tests and case reports and a pilot test in the educational process;
• Developing a doctoral program based on artificial intelligence components with the involvement of the academic staff of partner University.

Activities

In frames of project the following activities will be carried out:

• modernization of the infrastructure of the laboratory by purchasing a digital scanner. Training of departments and laboratory staff, residents and doctoral students, academic staff of the partner university will take place;
• Digitization of educational, archival and current case slides with a scanner and formation of a database with an emphasis on the curriculum will take place;
• Interactive transformation of digital slides of pathologies corresponding to the syllabus – by separating the diagnostic components on the image and annotating them in Georgian;
• Integration of innovative elements in the learning process by developing new algorithms for evaluation and self-assessment;
• Integration of interactive digital slides in tests and case reports and a pilot test in the educational process;
• Developing a doctoral program based on artificial intelligence components with the involvement of the academic staff of partner University.

Sustainability

The database, morphometric tools and information processing algorithms created as a result of the project will become the center of attraction for research projects of many medical specialties and will be constantly enriched with not only clinical but also research cases, which will make the learning process even more interesting and will promote the involvement of students in research projects.

This project represents one of the stages of the “Digital Pathology Implementation and Development Project” of the Departments of Pathology and Molecular Pathology of TSSU, and this stage is crucial in the realization of future goals. At the final stage of the digital pathology implementation Project will be received:

• A new, artificial intelligence-based system for managing the educational process, which includes the creation of algorithms for an interactive training course focused on development and in line with modern technologies – PathAIL (Pathology’s Artificial Intelligence based Learning);
• Digital database of slides with priority directions of research use;
• Initiation of new, multidisciplinary research projects and doctoral programs using artificial intelligence components.