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6th ESACP Congress, Heidelberg, April 7-11, 1999 |
A138
In theory, telepathology provides an easy method for pathologists to obtain
second opinions on difficult cases. However, in practice difficulties arise
which may limit its use. REMCON is a multicentre trial under the EEC
"EUROPATH" project to test and evaluate the use of mailed remote
consultation telepathology using static imaging transmission facilities
between international groups of pathologists with a common interest. It was
carried out using a commercially-available telepathology system with
connections made via the www. Three special-interest telepathology groups
were established for prostate, soft-tissue sarcoma and melanoma pathology.
In all a total of 17 pathologists from 9 different European countries were
actively involved. Case documents containing static images and text were
exchanged for consultation with other group members via multi-media email on
the Internet, and various factors such as preparation and mailing times,
adequacy of images, image quality, etc. were recorded. The whole experiment
was controlled and monitored using a www site. In all a total of 27 cases
were prepared and 38 case report forms were completed and returned.
Currently, the average case contains 8 images (~2Mb) and requires 55
minutes to prepare and 4 minutes to review. Several consultants expressed
reservations concerning the adequacy of the documents for confident
diagnosis; amongst the reasons given were poor image quality, insufficient
images and unclear questions. It was concluded from this experiment that
mailed remote images using this method must be used with caution, and that
guidance should be provided to intending telepathology users regarding image
quality, selection of images, and preparation of the document.
REMCON: DEMONSTRATION OF STATIC IMAGE REMOTE CONSULTATION.
Tucker J *, Busch C +, Wells C **, Spatz A ++
* Pathology Dept, Edinburgh University,
** Dept. Pathology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, UK
+ Dept. Pathology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
++ Dept. Pathology, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France