What is Telepathology?
Telepathology is the technique of using a digital transmission of pathological data to aid in medical diagnosis. Telepathology allows medical pictures to be shared more quickly and easily.
During surgery, biopsies can be sliced, stained, scanned, enlarged, and delivered digitally. A pathologist can view the slides remotely in real-time and offer a quick diagnosis to the surgeon.
Three main categories of Telepathology:
- Images are taken using a digital camera attached to a microscope in static image-based systems. A portion of the picture is chosen and broadcast.
- Pathology slides are scanned and high-resolution digital pictures are prepared for transmission using virtual slide systems.
- Real-time technologies allow the user to manage a robotically controlled motorized microscope from a distance. The operator can adjust the microscope as if it were local with real-time telepathology systems.
Benefits of Telepathology:
- One of the most significant advantages of telepathology is the speed with which diagnosis may be made. Patients in isolated rural locations, for example, can be tested and diagnosed in a single visit to the local healthcare institution, rather than making many trips to a bigger center and waiting weeks for findings, as is typically the case with traditional pathology. Such a delay can be lethal in severe — but not uncommon — circumstances.
- Teleconferencing allows medical specialists in various places to see photos and discuss diagnoses at the same time.
- A pathologist specialised in the patient’s area of concern, such as liver pathology or lung pathology, can be consulted.
- It is easier for an expert pathologist to obtain second opinions.
- Data from several electronic health information systems can be synchronized.
- lA telepathology system is less expensive to operate after it is set up than a traditional system.
The Relationship Between Digital Pathology and Telepathology
Telepathology is a service component of digital pathology. It involves the practice of pathology at a distance. Software and hardware engineers, optical scientists, computer scientists, and others have all contributed to the creation and development of telepathology imaging systems. Each successive wave of telepathology equipment design, testing, clinical trials, and service deployments has been evaluated using clinical translational research.
The goal of telepathology innovators has been hampered by the nature of their goal: to create a way for pathologists to perform their routine surgical pathology and cytopathology diagnostic service duties at a distance, equaling or exceeding the diagnostic performance and efficiency that they would achieve using traditional light microscopy.
Unlike other novel medical imaging modalities, such as CT or MRI scans in diagnostic radiology, which allows for visualization of structures not visible with traditional x-ray radiography, tele pathologists can only hope to match the performance of medical imaging technology, light microscopy, which is already considered a “gold standard” for medical diagnoses. This is difficult, especially when a robotic component is placed between a digital imaging instrument and a pathologist system operator at two different locations. Despite this, many technical issues have been resolved, and telepathology is becoming more widely used in pathology laboratories.
As Often Digital Pathology is also referred to as Telepathology
There are now three basic digital pathology picture transfer technologies in use:
(1) tiny static pictures captured with conventional digital cameras;
(2) real-time (or streaming) image transmission (also using normal digital cameras); or
(3) the transfer of WSIs.
Static picture transfer has the benefit of being simple to utilize and relatively inexpensive. To use this procedure, all you need is a camera, a computer, and a network connection. Image size is modest (in comparison to WSIs) and bandwidth needs are minimal. Static photos, on the other hand, only display a small fraction of the total specimen. As a result, just what the originator has photographed will be visible to remote viewers.
This situation may be totally appropriate for educational and testing reasons, but it introduces a bias that might be harmful in telediagnosis/consultation situations where the specimen is unknown and a diagnostic opinion is desired. This may not be a serious concern in “simple” instances, but in tough or actual “consultation grade” issues, this prejudice might possibly affect the outcome. The inability to focus, adjust magnifications, or otherwise control the picture might also make it difficult to interpret the image correctly.
In one investigation, video image capture was employed to solve the problem of static image focusing. When compared to non-focused still photos, the authors found that utilizing a specialized digital camera capable of collecting brief video clips of manual focusing (a “z-axis video”) enhanced diagnostic abilities. 7 The photographs can be archived permanently once the examination is done.
Conclusion
The pathology service component of digital pathology is telepathology. Telepathology is a service provided by pathologists at a distance, whereas digital pathology is a technology. Analog video imaging was used in early investigations prior to the advent of telepathology services.
Telepathology is the practice of remote pathology using telecommunication networks to transmit digital pathology pictures electronically. Telepathology can be utilized to provide primary diagnoses, second opinions, quality assurance, education, and research from a remote location.