Digital Pathology and Precision Medicine in Nephrology
Summary
Digital pathology and precision medicine are transforming the diagnosis and management of kidney disease by fusing high-resolution imaging with patient-specific molecular and clinical data. Digital pathology replaces traditional light microscopy with whole slide imaging, enabling pathologists to view, share and analyse complete histological sections on a digital platform. Quantitative morphometry of glomeruli, tubules and interstitium yields digital biomarkers that improve diagnostic consistency and inform prognostic models. Precision medicine in nephrology harnesses these digital data alongside genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic profiles to stratify patients by risk, predict disease progression and guide tailored therapies. Together, these advances promise greater reproducibility in biopsy interpretation, accelerated discovery of pathogenic pathways and more effective, individualized treatment strategies for chronic kidney diseases worldwide.
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Digital Pathology and Precision Medicine in Nephrology publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in digital pathology and precision medicine in nephrology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Digital pathology: The practice of scanning conventional glass histology slides to produce high-resolution digital images for analysis, storage and remote consultation.
Whole slide imaging: A technique that generates complete, high-magnification digital replicas of entire histological sections, enabling detailed morphometric and computational evaluation.
Precision medicine: An approach that integrates individual patient data—genomic, histological and clinical—to tailor diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies.
Glomerular morphometry: Quantitative measurement of glomerular structures (for example, tuft area or sclerosis fractions) from digital images to assess disease severity and predict outcomes.
Biobank: A repository of biological specimens linked to detailed digital pathology and clinical data, used to support translational research and biomarker discovery.
References
- The Application of Digital Pathology to Improve Accuracy in Glomerular Enumeration in Renal Biopsies. PLOS ONE (2016).
- Morphometry Predicts Early GFR Change in Primary Proteinuric Glomerulopathies: A Longitudinal Cohort Study Using Generalized Estimating Equations. PLOS ONE (2016).
- Biobanking for glomerular diseases: a study design and protocol for KOrea Renal biobank NEtwoRk System TOward NExt-generation analysis (KORNERSTONE). BMC Nephrology (2020).
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