![]() |
6th ESACP Congress, Heidelberg, April 7-11, 1999 |
A139
In telepathology, one of the major disadvantages of simple static-image
mailed remote consultation is the lack of control of the remote consultant
over the selection of images. Although this can be provided with
remotely-driven automated microscopes, this is very expensive. We have
therefore developed a less costly procedure for remote consultation based
on static images which combines both mailed and interactive consultation.
This uses a combination of dedicated telepathology software, video
conferencing software and conventional telephony. Prior to a consultation,
a document is mailed with a montage of low-power images covering the whole
slide, as well as possibly diagnostic fields. During the interactive
consultation, following discussion of these fields, the remote consultant
scans the low-power images to select any further fields which may be needed.
Under telephone and video-conferencing guidance, the local operator moves
the microscope stage to the appropriate area, and then grabs images of
the indicated areas, at the requested magnification. These are transmitted
to the consultant using the telepathology system. The method has been
tested on several types of specimen, including prostate and skin biopsies
and cervical smears. For many remote consultation applications the method
provides a low-cost alternative to expensive automated remote microscopy.
INTERACTIVE REMOTE CONSULTATION WITHOUT AUTOMATED MICROSCOPES
Tucker J, Duvall E, Grigor K, McKenzie S, McGoogan E,
Bird C
Pathology Dept, Edinburgh University, UK