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"Virtual Microscope" Should Speed Diagnosis of Cancer, Other Diseases


By Melissa Knopper

CHICAGO, Jul 26 (Reuters Health) - Computer experts are developing a "virtual microscope" that should make it easier for physicians to diagnose cancer and other diseases, by examining digitized data samples instead of traditional slides.

A prototype of the device should be available for classroom use within 6 months, according to Dr. Alan Sussman, a University of Maryland computer scientist who gave a preview of the device here at the World Congress of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.

Medical students from Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University and the University of Pittsburgh will be among the first to test the prototype. "It's ideal for medical schools because lots of different students can be looking at the same slide at the same time," Dr. Sussman told Reuters Health.

To create virtual microscope slides, scientists use a robotic stage with a digital camera that forms a map with low-power images, then correlates each section of the map with detailed high-power views of the sample, Dr. Sussman explained.

The machine will store the series of slides so that anyone with Internet access can view them, just like they would use a Web browser, he said. He pointed out that the new machine could help physicians in rural areas get advice from colleagues in distant medical centers.

Researchers must overcome several obstacles, however, before the virtual microscope will become standard equipment in medical laboratories. "It takes several hours to digitize a slide at high magnification," Dr. Sussman said. "Mechanically, it's a slow process."

Computer scientists also are working on ways to make sure that patient data remain confidential on the Web.

-Westport Newsroom 203 319 2700

(From Reuters Health )

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