A Method of Operating a Microscope over Internet for Remotely Viewing and Analyzing the Slides - Remote telemicroscopy

Abstract

The paper presents a novel method of real time telepathology system which is a combination of ICT (information and communication technology) that aims to improve the delivery of health care facility by allowing the physician (pathologist) to view the specimen and make a diagnosis from a remote location without the dependency of the operator. The system possesses the capability of manipulating the microscope stage position through internet so as to adjust the sample slide that is to be viewed, assisting the expert to appreciate the histological images to be viewed in real time from far and distant location. This robotically controlled microscopic system make use of microcontroller along with multiple software which helps in altering the microscope stage positioning through commands received over internet as requested by the user. The use of internet to access the microscope make system possible to operate it from anywhere around the world where internet access is available and adequate bandwidth is present. The real time system of remote telemicroscopy possesses an accuracy of 1 mm along X-axis, 0.5 mm accuracy along Y-axis and 0.125 mm accuracy along Z-axis. Also, 5 MP webcam is used and for the purpose of sharing these images an internet connection having a minimum speed of 512 kbps is required.