FIBI: a direct-to-digital microscopy approach for slide-free histology

Anatomic pathology is still the gold standard for tissue-based disease diagnosis, is centered on interpretation of H&E-stained sections on glass slides, a process requires labor-intensive and time-consuming specimen processing. We propose a simple, clinically relevant solution, termed FIBI (fluorescence imitating brightfield imaging), for directly creating diagnostic-quality images from unsectioned, fresh or fixed tissue specimens. FIBI can generate full-color histology-grade images within minutes. We have demonstrated the validity of this method by collecting 50 tissue samples from various organs and pathologies and comparing the diagnosis obtained using FIBI images with those determined from adjacent, conventionally prepared H&E-stained slides.