Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, 43210, USA.
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Feb;135(2):211-4. doi: 10.5858/135.2.211.
Physician shortages are acute in developing countries, where disease burden is the greatest and resources for health care are very limited. A lack of pathologists in these countries has lead to delays in diagnosis and misdiagnoses that adversely affect patient care and survival. The introduction of telepathology into countries with limited resources for health care is but one of multiple approaches that can be used to alleviate the problem. Telepathology is the electronic transmission of digital images that can be used for education and diagnostic consultation. A basic system consists of a microscope with a mounted digital camera linked to a computer. The ability to produce histologic slides, to repair and maintain equipment, and to provide training are also needed for the successful use of this technology. iPath is a Web-based, open platform, software application which was developed at the University of Basel, Switzerland, for telepathology and which brings together pathologists from around the world to provide telepathology support for diagnostic consultation and provides education to centers with limited resources. The use of virtual-slide technology to provide a digital image of an entire glass slide is another technology for diagnostic consultation and pathology education. This technology requires more costly resources to support it, which may limit its utility in many areas. Telepathology can generate collections of digital images and virtual slides needed for training indigenous pathologists in their countries to become self-sufficient. Thus, the long-term goal of this technology is to improve patient care and survival.
发展中国家的医生短缺问题非常严重，这些国家的疾病负担最大，医疗资源非常有限。由于这些国家缺乏病理学家，导致诊断延误和误诊，从而对患者的治疗和生存产生不利影响。将远程病理学引入医疗资源有限的国家是可以用来缓解这一问题的多种方法之一。远程病理学是数字图像的电子传输，可以用于教育和诊断咨询。一个基本系统包括一个带有数字摄像头的显微镜，与计算机相连。要成功使用这项技术，还需要能够制作组织切片、修复和维护设备以及提供培训的能力。iPath 是一个基于网络的开放平台软件应用程序，由瑞士巴塞尔大学开发，用于远程病理学，它汇集了来自世界各地的病理学家，为诊断咨询提供远程病理学支持，并为资源有限的中心提供教育。虚拟切片技术是另一种用于诊断咨询和病理学教育的技术，可以提供整个载玻片的数字图像。这项技术需要更昂贵的资源来支持，这可能会限制它在许多领域的应用。远程病理学可以生成数字图像和虚拟切片的集合，这些图像和切片可用于培训本国的土著病理学家，使他们能够自给自足。因此，这项技术的长期目标是改善患者的治疗和生存。
