Team forges telepathology guidelines at Keesler

Published April 11, 2012
By Col. (Dr.) Daniel Smith
81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- A 20-person telepathology high-performance Team convened at Keesler's hospital March 20-23 to develop the requirements for the telepathology capability in the Air Force Medical Service. Telepathology uses imagery and video and allows pathologists to study diseases without being physically present. The session was directed by the Surgeon General's Requirements for Operational Capabilities Council.

Representatives from the Air Force Medical Support Agency in Washington, D.C., acquisitions; medical information; research, development and innovation; Air Force Medical Operations Agency Medical Logistics at Fort Detrick, Md.; and pathology subject matter experts from the 59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas; 60th Medical Group, Travis AFB, Calif.; 81st Medical Group, Keesler; 96th MDG, Eglin AFB, Fla.; and 10th MDG, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., successfully established requirements to develop telepathology as a part of personalized medicine and the interactive electronic health record.

Telepathology systems involve advanced software capabilities, hardware options, scanning speeds, maintenance plans, repair support and unique benefits that require a strategic evaluation using expert pathologists, highly skilled information technologists, histotechnologists and other expertise to implement telepathology in support of the vision of personalized health care in the AFMS.

Anatomic pathology across the world is currently undergoing the digital revolution that occurred earlier in the field of radiology. It has become a standard of practice for radiologists to use digital technology to view radiographic images and other scans performed on patients. As computer speeds have dramatically increased and computer storage capability has expanded, the more complicated images from microscopic slides can be stored and sent to servers for immediate viewing and consultation. Many hardware and software companies have been investing considerable efforts to improve the practice of telepathology with clearly defined images and accelerated availability of their digital pathology products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is beginning to license the equipment as medical devices as increasing advances are made in the field.

The advantages of telepathology are far reaching. Microscopic slides can be scanned and stored as whole-slide digital images. Pathologists can view the digitized tissue images from a high-definition computer screen and move around the digital image just as they would using a microscope, zooming in and out of areas of interest with the click of a mouse. Using the internet, the pathologist can securely consult another pathologist or an expert at a university setting who can instantly view the digital images and render an opinion. Digital images can be available and be viewed any place in the world where a secure computer and internet access exist. This would allow immediate viewing by many trained eyes to consult on infectious disease cases or other medical problems in the deployed environment that can be diagnosed using light microscopy and result in immediate treatment.