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TelePi: an affordable telepathology microscope camera system anyone can build and use
Almoatazbellah Youssef1, Andreas Rosenwald2, Mathias Tillmann Rosenfeldt2
1Institute of Pathology and Comprehensive Cancer Centre Mainfranken, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2, 97080, Würzburg, Germany. almoatazbellah.youssef@uni-wuerzburg.de.
Virchows Archiv : an International Journal of Pathology
|November 7, 2023
Summary
A low-cost telepathology system, TelePi, was developed for under €120. This affordable system enables remote histological diagnosis and teaching, especially in resource-limited settings, without compromising image quality.
Area of Science:
- Digital pathology
- Medical imaging
- Health technology
Background:
- Telepathology enhances diagnostic accuracy by enabling remote expert consultation.
- High costs of existing telepathology systems limit accessibility, particularly in low-resource regions lacking pathologists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an affordable and versatile telepathology system (TelePi) for low-resource settings.
- To evaluate the performance and image quality of the developed TelePi system.
Main Methods:
- Constructed TelePi using Raspberry Pi Zero, camera module, microscope, and open-source software (<€120 budget).
- Utilized a web-based live stream for remote consultations and image sharing.
- Assessed system for remote diagnostics of frozen sections, teaching, and research.
Main Results:
- TelePi system demonstrated comparable quality to commercial systems costing over 125 times more.
- Captured still images were of publication quality, rivaling a whole slide scanner costing 800 times more.
- The system is low-maintenance, portable, and OS-independent.
Conclusions:
- TelePi offers an affordable, versatile solution for telepathology in underserved areas.
- The system maintains high image quality, suitable for diagnostics, teaching, and research.
- TelePi has the potential to significantly improve access to pathology services globally.
