Rhoads Daniel D, Mathison Blaine A, Bishop Henry S, da Silva Alexandre J, Pantanowitz Liron
From the Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Drs Rhoads and Pantanowitz);
the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Messrs Mathison and Bishop and Dr da Silva);
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2016 Apr;140(4):362-70. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2015-0116-RA. Epub 2015 Aug 28.
Microbiology laboratories are continually pursuing means to improve quality, rapidity, and efficiency of specimen analysis in the face of limited resources. One means by which to achieve these improvements is through the remote analysis of digital images. Telemicrobiology enables the remote interpretation of images of microbiology specimens. To date, the practice of clinical telemicrobiology has not been thoroughly reviewed.
To identify the various methods that can be employed for telemicrobiology, including emerging technologies that may provide value to the clinical laboratory.
Peer-reviewed literature, conference proceedings, meeting presentations, and expert opinions pertaining to telemicrobiology have been evaluated.
A number of modalities have been employed for telemicroscopy, including static capture techniques, whole slide imaging, video telemicroscopy, mobile devices, and hybrid systems. Telemicrobiology has been successfully implemented for several applications, including routine primary diagnosis, expert teleconsultation, and proficiency testing. Emerging areas of telemicrobiology include digital plate reading of bacterial cultures, mobile health applications, and computer-augmented analysis of digital images. To date, static image capture techniques have been the most widely used modality for telemicrobiology, despite newer technologies being available that may produce better quality interpretations. Telemicrobiology adds value, quality, and efficiency to the clinical microbiology laboratory, and increased adoption of telemicrobiology is anticipated.
面对资源有限的情况，微生物实验室一直在寻求提高标本分析质量、速度和效率的方法。实现这些改进的一种方法是通过对数字图像进行远程分析。远程微生物学能够对微生物标本图像进行远程解读。迄今为止，临床远程微生物学的实践尚未得到全面审查。
确定可用于远程微生物学的各种方法，包括可能对临床实验室有价值的新兴技术。
对与远程微生物学相关的同行评审文献、会议论文集、会议报告和专家意见进行了评估。
远程显微镜检查已采用多种方式，包括静态捕获技术、全玻片成像、视频远程显微镜检查、移动设备和混合系统。远程微生物学已成功应用于多种用途，包括常规初步诊断、专家远程会诊和能力验证。远程微生物学的新兴领域包括细菌培养的数字平板读数、移动健康应用以及数字图像的计算机增强分析。迄今为止，静态图像捕获技术是远程微生物学中使用最广泛的方式，尽管有更新的技术可能会产生质量更好的解读结果。远程微生物学为临床微生物实验室增加了价值、提高了质量和效率，预计其应用会越来越广泛。
