IMAGE HANDLING SYSTEM FOR PATHOLOGY AND TELEPATHOLOGY

外科病理学是一个每年大约200亿美元的产业 (USA仅）。不像细胞学和血液病理学， 细胞，外科病理学涉及大的组织切片。组织 将切片固定在标准3 × 1英寸显微镜上的盖玻片下 每年制作5000万至1亿张幻灯片。至少 PI（主要研究者）与外科医生合作10年 对数字图像处理感兴趣的病理学家。他们再三 强调了扫描组织切片的诊断重要性， 尽可能低的放大率。然而，物理光学绝对 防止任何显微镜透镜对整个50 × 25 mm成像 盖玻片为了解决这个问题，PI发明并获得了专利， （1988）一个全新的仪器称为PCM（PC显微镜）， 使用半导体二极管、光纤设备将允许FCS（全 盖玻片）扫描。“此外，PCM将 提供从以下区域中选择的区域的实时、高放大率显示： 具有亚微米分辨率的阴影图像。第一阶段NIH SBIR资金是 要求研究PCM的可行性。当显示FCS图像时 对外科病理学家来说，这些评论是“太棒了”[大学]。 南加州]，“非凡而宏伟”[马约诊所]等。 病理学主席协会主席，即，顶部 美国的病理学家说，他设想的市场是5万人， 单位与这些评论截然相反， 客户和PI认为不可理解的原因，这两个 NIH研究部门审查了我们对第二阶段SBIR资金的申请 PCM只是一个“实验室的好奇心”， 也许是不存在的（市场）。" 因此，PI再次要求 第二阶段SBIR资助，将PCM减少到实践中，然后使用两个或 在网络演示（远程病理学）中使用更多PCM，其中FCS 具有本质意义 拟定商业应用： 光学显微镜被成千上万的外科病理学家使用， 美国和全世界成千上万的人。今天没有显微镜可以提供 整个盖玻片的同步图像以及高分辨率 其选定部分的图像。KSC的新显微镜系统 提供快速全盖玻片成像以及实时HDTV， 低成本单位。KSC的系统被视为下一代 病理学显微镜世界上最大的病理学 美国的部门估计市场为50，000单位。

Surgical pathology is, approximately, a 20 billion dollar a year industry (USA only). Unlike cyto- and hemapathology that focus on microscopic cells, surgical pathology is concerned with large tissue sections. Tissue sections are mounted under a coverslip on standard 3x1 inch microscope slides of which from 50 to 100 million are prepared per year. For at least ten years the PI (Principal Investigator) has worked with surgical pathologists interested in digital image handling. Again and again they have emphasized the diagnostic importance of scanning tissue sections at the lowest magnification possible. Yet, physical optics absolutely prevents any microscope lens from imaging the entire 50X25 mm coverslip. To solve this problem, the PI invented and received a patent on (1988) an entirely new instrument called PCM (PC Microscope) that, using a semiconductor-diode, fiber-optic device would permit a FCS (full coverslip) scan employing "shadow imaging." In addition, PCM would provide real-time, high-magnification display of regions selected from the shadow image with submicron resolution. Phase I NIH SBIR funding was requested to study the feasibility of PCM. When FCS images were shown to surgical pathologists, the comments were "fantastic" [University of Southern California], "remarkable and magnificent" [Mayo Clinic], etc. The president of the Association of Pathology Chairmen, i.e., the top pathologists in the USA, stated that he envisaged a market of 50,000 units. In diametric opposition to these comments by our potential customers and for reasons that the PI finds incomprehensible, the two NIH Study Sections that reviewed our request for Phase II SBIR funding stated that PCM was only a "laboratory curiosity" with a "very limited, perhaps non-existent [market]." The PI, therefore, is again requesting Phase II SBIR funding to reduce PCM to practice and then use two or more PCMs in a network demonstration (telepathology) where FCS is essential. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Optical microscopy is used by thousands of surgical pathologists in the USA and further thousands worldwide. No microscope today can provide simultaneous images of the entire coverslip as well as high resolution images of selected portions thereof. KSC's new microscope system provides both fast full coverslip imaging as well as real-time HDTV in a single low-cost unit. KSC's system is seen as the next generation microscope for surgical pathology. The chairman of the largest pathology department in the USA estimates a market of 50,000 units.