నైరూప్య

Role of robotic telepathology for frozen-section diagnosis

Anshoo Agarwal

 Frozen section (FS) diagnosis has been used as an important factor in intraoperative decision making. FS are more difficult to interpret than examination of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. Nevertheless, FS is regarded as an accurate means of diagnosis during surgery and often has a significant influence on the surgical operation being performed. Robotic Telepathology is the practice of digitizing histological or macroscopic images for transmission along telecommunication pathways for diagnosis, consultation, or continuing medical education. In dynamic telepathology, the consultant examines a slide remotely with a robotic microscope that allows him or her to select different fields and magnification powers. Static telepathology relies upon images sent by the referring pathologist. Because the field selection is accomplished by the consultant, the information that he or she obtains is the same as he or she would obtain at the microscope in person. One of the most promising applications of telepathology is intraoperative consultation to be allowed with pathology support located elsewhere, allowing surgeries requiring an intraoperative histopathological diagnosis without a pathologist on site, thereby preventing medical errors, reducing costs, and increasing quality. Also to submit histological slides to a remote pathologist requires packing and postage expenses, Additionally, increasing documentation between countries is necessary to ensure the lack of pathological risk associated with the submitted material which can be avoided by telepathology and also it can reduce the travel time of the pathologist, which is expensive, nonproductive professional time. Hence, the provision of pathologic care using telepathology for routine, emergent and FS diagnosis can support primary and second-opinion pathology diagnosis throughout the world.