Visual telecommunication for expert consultation of intraoperative sections

Histopathological images of intraoperative sections were transferred by use of normal telephone line between the Department of Pathology, Thoraxklinik, Heidelberg, and the Institute of Pathology, Hospital Baumgartnerhöhe, Vienna. The images were digitized using a colour TV camera and stored in a specific image transmission system (VP2000). The transfer of one image lasted 1.4-2 min at average; normally two different areas of the section were transmitted. The expert discussion including the clinical history usually started a few minutes prior to the image transfer, and was finished 3 min after the transfer of the last image. A substantial assistance in the intraoperative classification of the disease was achieved in 37% of the 35 submitted cases. The images transfer was only useful for medium to high magnifications of the microscope, i.e., an objective x 25 or higher. The trail allows the following conclusions: a) Visual transfer of microscopic images is a useful technique for expert consultation of intraoperative sections, and can give additional information in 20-40% of the analyzed cases; b) it is useful only for medium or high microscopic magnifications and limited by the spatial resolution of the TV cameras.