Introduction
There is a rapidly growing interest in the analysis of histopathological data and the development of appropriate technology to address the processing and analysis issues associated with it. With the recent advances in whole slide scanning technology digitization of tissue histopathology specimens is rapidly becoming commonplace. Since these specimens are usually orders of magnitude larger than datasets obtained via conventional medical imaging (e.g. MRI, CT, X-ray, Ultrasound), the quantitative analysis and visualization of this data requires specialized and computationally efficient tools.
In August 2007, histopathological image analysis researchers, industrial leaders and clinicians came together in a retreat at Drexel University to discuss this emerging field. Encouraged by the level of interest to this retreat, and strong collaborations and interactions generated among histopathological image analysis researchers, we have organized a series of meetings, usually as part of other established conferences. We organized a special focus session at ISBI 2008 in Paris, and then another workshop as part of MICCAI 2008 in New York City.
This summer (July 6-7, 2009) we are organizing a follow-up workshop at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. As in our previous meetings, we would like to discuss topics that are at the cutting edge of research and start tackling problems that cannot be solved by any single group alone. The following five topics will be discussed in single-session panels led by leaders of these fields. Additionally, there will be a poster session, where researchers can discuss their research in detail with the attendees. Representatives of the industry will discuss their latest products during these poster sessions.