Notes

Outline

Pathalba – digital and tele-                    pathology Scope: Scotland-wide initiative to contribute to development of pathology input to regional multidisciplinary meetings and shortage of pathologists. Progress:

Pathalba – digital and tele-                    pathology Scope: Scotland-wide initiative to contribute to development of pathology input to regional multidisciplinary meetings and shortage of pathologists. Progress: Pilot work in Edinburgh being rolled out E. Scotland, wanting to extend all over. Funding: Industry, NOF, STAF

What are the areas of value? Remote diagnosis Expert to expert pathologist consultation Multidisciplinary meetings Teaching and training Underpinned by satisfactory IT/data and workload archiving

What are the areas of value? Remote diagnosis – robotic microscopy Web based Fully robotic microscope Norway, N. England and Scotland Constraints: Time, bandwidth, effort, cost, best practice Opportunities: one stop clinics

What are the areas of value? Expert to expert pathologist consultation Collegiate opinion, the role of pathology, perceptions and problems, real time and virtual, centre and periphery, the virtual department Constraints: culture, time,

What are the areas of value? Multidisciplinary meetings Edinburgh experience, links to videoconferencing, data gathering, inadequacies of most pathology IT systems Opportunities: pathology – laboratory or                                             imaging discipline?

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What are the other areas of value? Translational research Teaching and training Worked example – cervical screening and conversion to liquid base cytology      http://webdb.ucs.ed.ac.uk/telepathology/lbc

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Constructing the learning environment The virtual microscope The assessment packages The incentive to learn The need to question – imposition or interactive?

Introduction of liquid based cytology will require visual material For training - quickly For assessment For external quality assurance

"Image quality – is it..." Image quality – is it good enough? Cells in liquid based cytology are 3-dimensional therefore need to “focus through” when examining.

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Administrative features Internet based All data for each user are stored- every image accessed and every diagnosis. Security: Password-protected login, session timeout, users cannot enter data as someone else. Multiple administrative levels give varying access to users details and results

Prospects Real opportunities if they are recognised Need for parallel development of IT Culture and awareness – picking the right areas for implementation Move from an introspective mindset to a broader, more inclusive “virtual department” Not centralisation – common resources