Presented at the 1998 APIII Conference                        Return to 1998 Abstract Index

University of Oxford
Nuffield Department of Pathology
John Radcliffe Hospital
Headington, Oxford UNITED KINGDOM
Leong, FJW-M
Graham, AK
McGee, JO'D

Conventional thinking sees the approach to telepathology as encompassing real-time robotic interactive systems at one end, and multiple static image systems at the other. The costs associated with robotic systems are prohibitive for many institutions, bandwidth requirements notwithstanding. On the other hand, pure static telepathology is limited in its representation of all the potential data on a histologic slide. A palliative solution to the limitations of static telepathology is to engage in real-time discussion while viewing the images, thus providing the pathologist with the option to request further images.

We have developed a low-cost telepathology consultation system for second opinion based upon freely-available software and an Internet connection. Microsoft NetMeeting is group conferencing software offering a number of features including video-conferencing, text-based chat, and a communal whiteboard. By employing the features of the NetMeeting and integrating them with other software, we have a system that allows not only static image but real-time image transfers. This takes place over existing infrastructure, ie., the Internet. Real-time image transmission eliminates the need to capture images beforehand, as is the case with pure static telepathology, although the latter remains an option.