Virtual telepathology in Egypt, applications of WSI in Cairo University

Essam Ayad

doi:10.1186/1746-1596-6-s1-s1

Abstract

Telepathology, the practice of pathology at a long distance, has advanced continuously since 1986. Today, fourth-generation telepathology systems, so-called virtual slide telepathology systems, are being used for education applications. Both conventional and innovative surgical pathology diagnostic services are being designed and implemented as well. We have a successful experience in Egypt in applying the static & dynamic techniques in a pilot project between the Italian Hospital in Cairo (NPO) and the Civico Hospital in Palermo This project began in 2003 and continued till now. In 2004, centers in Venice, London and Pittsburgh participated actively in our project. During the past seven years we consulted on many problematic pathological cases with these different specialized pathological centers in Italy, UK & USA. In addition to the highly specialized scientific value of consulting on the cases and exchanging knowledge, we saved a lot of time and money and succeeded in providing our patients with a better medical service. In view of this success we have already established a new Digital Telepathology unit (DTU) in the pathology department, Cairo University, using the latest technique of telepathology which is Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) since one year. This unit is considered the first Digital pathology unit in all the universities of the whole Middle East. During the passed year we created a digital pathology library for the under graduate students using the WSI technique and changed the teaching method of the histopathology slides to be completely digital. We are building another digital pathology library (for post graduate candidates) which will be available to all pathology candidates in Egyptian universities & universities in the surrounding Arabic countries. We are also creating a digital pathology network between pathology centers in the Middle East for exchanging knowledge & telepathology.

Highlights

Telepathology is the practice of pathology at a distance, viewing images on a monitor rather than directly through a light microscope [1]
During the passed year we created a digital pathology library for the under graduate students using the Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) technique and changed the teaching method of the histopathology slides to be completely digital. We are building another digital pathology library which will be available to all pathology candidates in Egyptian universities & universities in the surrounding Arabic countries
The essential needs for our complete telepathology unit were straightforward: a suitable place, a server with a high-speed internet connection, a full computer system

Summary

Introduction

Telepathology is the practice of pathology at a distance, viewing images on a monitor rather than directly through a light microscope [1]. In today’s health care system, there are many uses of telepathology. To “provide urgent services at sites either without a pathologist or sites with a pathologist requiring additional professional backup” telepathology can “provide immediate access to sub-specialty pathology consultants” In general, telepathology techniques are classified into Static, Dynamic, Hybrid and Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) [2,3,4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion