Future strategy for telepathology in Sweden: higher resolution, real time transmission in a multipurpose work station for diagnostic pathology.

The general reaction among Swedish pathologists to the nationwide experimentation static teletransmission of microscopic images can be briefly summarized as follows: "interesting, but technically imperfect: we need more friendly interface, faster transmission, preferably in real time, better resolution, and the possibility for slide operation by the receiver". In Sweden all Pathology laboratories are presently changing administrative routines to PC-platformed networks, which means that each pathologist has a microscope and a PC as obligatory tools to perform diagnostic work. Therefore, we plan to incorporate Telepathology, including picture archiving, along with administrative software and improved software for static DNA-measurements and morphometry. The latter is including a novel system for quantification of color images e.g. immunohistochemistry into a standard work-station for diagnostic pathology. The features of this technique are presented as well as the general outline of the work-station. Steps have been taken to build up and test such a work-station in the broad band (ATM) laboratories of the Ericsson Company and a cooperation with several Scandinavian partners in computer and teletechnology. Hopefully, similar competitive actions are taken elsewhere to help bring down the prices and facilitate adoption among diagnostic pathologists world-wide.