K. Kayser J. Szymas R.Weinstein
Telepathology
Telecommunication, Electronic Education
and Publication in Pathology
With 56 Figures, 12 in colour and 21 Tables
search
contents
hitlist
help
lizenz
123
IV
Klaus Kayser, MD PH. D.
Professor of Pathology
University and Dept. of Pathology, Thoraxklinik, Heidelberg
Amalienstrasse 5
69121 Heidelberg, Germany
Janusz Szymas, MD
Professor of Pathology
Dept. of Pathology
University Poznan
60-355 Poznan, Poland
Ronald S. Weinstein, MD
Professor of Pathology
Institute of Pathology
University of Arizona
Tucson/Arizona, USA
ISBN 3-540-65245-0 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
CIP data applied for
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Kayser, Klaus:
Telepathology : telecommunication, electronic education and publication in pathology /
K. Kayser; J. Szymas; R. Weinstein. - Berlin; New York; Barcelona; Hongkong; London; Mailand;
Paris; Singapore; Tokio; Springer, 1999
ISBN 3-540-65245-0
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the
material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other way, and storage in data
banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions
of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission
for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution
under the German Copyright Law.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999
Printed in Germany
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Product liability: The publishers cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information about
dosage and application contained in this book. In every individual case the user must check
such information by consulting the relevant literature.
Cover degsin: G. Kayser, E. Kirchner, Heidelberg
Typesetting: Lars Weber, Goldener Schnitt, Sinzheim
SPIN: 10698538 81/3135 5 4 3 2 1 0 – Printed on acid-free paper
V
Preface
„Dem Blick eröffnen weite Bahn
Zu sehn, was alles ich getan
Zu überschaun mit einem Blick
Des Menschengeistes Meisterstück.“
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust, Der Tragödie zweiter Teil, 1832
“Piekny jest ludzki rozum i niezwyciezony.”
CZESLAW MILOSZ
Zaklecie
“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
William Shakespeare
Hamlet
Naturally, the human life is based upon essential needs such as food,
clothing, and housing. These needs can be provided for by appropriate
use of the available technical resources and an adequate distribution of
products. The obvious lack of these elementary supplies for human life
in numerous countries is not caused by insufficient production or lack
of goods. It is the consequence of inadequate distribution. In other words,
controlled communication adjusted to the needs of the people and to the
laws of human behavior has to be developed in order to erase hunger,
provide shelter for the population, and improve health conditions. The
same holds true for health care systems and medicine. The inadequate
distribution of the available resources in medicine is not caused by insufficient numbers of doctors, poor medical education, or inadequate
funding in the health care systems; it is mainly an expression of inadequate distribution of available resources, and of poor communication
between all the involved institutions. Communication is the distribution
of information, the correct mailing of data to the place where they are
needed, and efficient transformation into the necessary action. Our so-
VI
Preface
cieties have become used to receiving information from the remotest
places on earth (and even from man-made satellites searching for extraterrestial life). The passive spread of information is worldwide. It includes
some unconnected activities such as advertising for retail goods, or
election advertising. The communication described and analyzed in this
book is different. It is related to the origin of information collected at
different places and dates, and its most appropriate use. It can be demonstrated that the important part (if not all) of this information is visual,
and can be translated into images or figures. The technical procedures
for acquiring, storing, handling, and retrieving images have been developed. They are based upon the use of electronic media and can be transmitted by the use of physically “real” connections, i.e., copper lines, glass
fiber optics, or wireless, i.e., radio waves. The basic laws of communication to be applied in the medical world, and the influence of information
transfer, handling and use in medicine are the subject of this book. They
form the basis of an appropriate and effective medical care, of making
the correct diagnosis, its confirmation and application, and the development of new medical knowledge in terms of research, training, education, and performance.
It is not by chance that the book has been written by the three authors involved. Being involved in this exciting field of pathology it was
the logical consequence that the information exchange between us resulted in the opportunity to give our colleagues the benefit of our
knowledge on several aspects of telecommunication in medicine with
specific reference to telepathology. We have included some basic ideas
on image handling and attributes for analysis as well as on electronic
publication in pathology. The technical descriptions present the current status, and we all expect these to change rapidly in the near future.
The discrete entities described in this book, however, will probably not
be subject to rapid development. Therefore, it seems justified that brief
descriptions of them have been included.
The book would not have been written without the assistance of Sandy
Beinar, Bartlomiej Bialas, Christine Borrman, Roselyn Hathaway, Kris
Erps, Gian Kayser, Tracy Lyman, Anna Pawlaczyk, Barbara Richter and
Katarzyna Szymanska. Bartlomiej Bialas and Gian Kayser performed
some of the graphic work. Gian Kayser also provided much help with
the communication procedures. Barbara Richter and Roselyn Hathaway
assisted us with the editorial work; Sandy Beinar, Christine Borrman,
Tracy Lyman, and Kris Erps with proof reading the manuscript; and
Katarzyna Szymanska and Ms. Anna Pawlaczyk with the Polish-English communication. We are very grateful to them for their reliable
support. Our deepest gratitude, however, is reserved for our wives, who
supported us with all their understanding and patience while we were
writing the text.
VII
Preface
May our readers not only find the information they are looking for,
but may they also find new ideas and transform these ideas into the real
world of medical understanding and care, and into the virtual world to
estimate the potential risk and improvement of the derived actions. May,
and this is our most important goal, numerous patients benefit from the
ideas and information in this book, and may it be used to contribute to
a better life, especially for those among us who do not expect it.
Heidelberg, November 1998
Poznan, November 1998
Tucson, November 1998
next
K. Kayser
J. Szymas
R. Weinstein