Unique International Telepathology System

A telepathology system has been found to be an effective means for a transplant pathologist working alone in Palermo, Sicily, to receive real-time consultations with transplant pathologists located at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC, PA, USA). In the past year, more than 150 cases have been reviewed using the static image telepathology system, according to a report at the annual meeting of the American Telemedicine Association in Ft. Lauderdale (FL, USA).

UPMC pathologists and information systems experts developed the system because no commercial system was available to meet the specific requirement of transplant pathologists. The system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and operates over a secure network between a pathologist in Palermo and pathologists at UPMC in Pittsburgh. All discussions are stored to maintain contact when decisions are made over several days. Each pathologist has a specially equipped home computer and monitor upgraded to display images at high resolution as well as high-end laptops. In Palermo, the pathologist's microscope contains a high-definition camera and software that capture and send images to Pittsburgh.

The success of the system is very important since a pathologist's diagnosis can often determine if an organ transplant or liver resection will proceed, even while the patient is on the operating room table. The same telepathology system was recently installed at the University of Kyushu in Fukuoka, Japan, where there is an active liver transplant program. The UPMC team also plans to collaborate with a center in India. UPMC has been collaborating with two transplantation centers in Sicily for several years, which it also manages under a special program funded by the Italian government.

"Given our experience with this system to date, I would estimate that up to 85% of all transplant pathology consultation could be done directly via the Internet, assuming there are committed and experienced users on either end,” noted Anthony J. Demetris, professor of pathololgy at UPMC, who helped to conceive and develop the system.




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