Presented at the 1999 APIII Conference Return to 1999 Abstract Index
HIGH QUALITY GROSS AND MICROSCOPIC DIGITAL IMAGING USING A SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE DIGITAL CAMERA FOR CLINICAL RECORDS, CONSULTATION AND TEACHING
Atlanta VA Medical
Center
Emory University
Decatur, Georgia
Vijay Varma, MD, Gregory
Ray, MD, Ron Kovacs
Digital imaging is being used increasingly in pathology
as well as other fields of medicine. Although several vendors
supply excellent equipment for gross and microscopic imaging,
these are expensive and often difficult to use. We adopted
a simple off-the-shelf digital camera to obtain high quality
clinical, gross as well as microscopic imaging. These images
were used for teaching, tumor conferences as well as telepathology
consultation.
We obtained excellent results with all three models we tested. Images of skin lesions in dermatology clinic as well as gross images of surgical pathology and autopsy specimens, flow cytometery charts and electrophoresis gels were obtained under ambient light without using the tripod. Microscopic images of cytology and histology slides were obtained at various magnifications ranging from x40 to x1000 by holding the camera by hand with the lens against the ocular of a regular compound microscope. Basic color balance correction was done using Adobe Photoshop software. No other correction or other manipulation of images was required. For display on high resolution monitors as well as for prints up to 8X10 prints, the images are comparable to digital images obtained by scanning 35 mm transparencies.
Because of the ease and low cost of obtaining digital images, organizing them in a database for later clinical or teaching use, and sharing them with other pathologists and clinicians, images can be used much more extensively for patient care and teaching in pathology. The new high resolution (more than 1 megapixel) digital cameras intended for the mass market are inexpensive, versatile and easy to use in pathology and could be used with any (binocular, trinocular or multi-headed) microscope without attachments or modifications. This simple and practical approach with inexpensive consumer market digital cameras should also increase the number of pathologists participating in telepathology in the United States as well as other countries.
