Telecommunication--a new tool for quality assurance and control in diagnostic pathology

Telepathology is the diagnostic work of a pathologist at a distance. It includes specific application fields which require specific system solutions. These comprise: a. frozen section service; b. expert consultations; c. remote control measurements, and d. education and training. Applications but, in addition, all aspects of diagnosis, especially those involved in the daily work flow of a pathologist. The image quality, transfer rates, and screen resolution of telepathology systems are sufficient for an additional or primary judgment of histological slides and cytological smears. It is, therefore, possible to include this technique into intralaboratory quality control of all steps of diagnostic procedures and to use this technique for quality assurance and control. Diagnostic quality is not a well defined term, and depends, in addition to external circumstances, on the diagnosis itself. The diagnostic quality can be maintained or even improved by use of telepathology systems. They can serve for control of image quality, access to various information sources, simultaneous transfer of images and diagnosis, and continuous education of the involved pathologists. For example, in continuous education and training, as a first step the pathologist should have access to an image data bank storing images related to the specific case, for example images taken from the same organ and from patients of similar age. The final stage would be an intra-diagnostic learning from the specific case; i.e. the time difference between questionnaires for a difficult diagnosis and the final diagnosis will become a minimum. Automated storing of the specific and diagnosis-associated images of the case will permit an open diagnostic system which will itself adjust to the micro-environment of the department of pathology. Although this future scenario has not been implemented to our knowledge, there is little doubt the development in telepathology will promote the technical procedures in the environment of a diagnostic pathologist. Telepathology is, therefore, not a substitute of conventional diagnostic procedures but a real improvement in the world of pathology.