Telepathology NEWSLETTER 1

Published two times a year by the European Steering
Committee on Telepathology

President: Klaus Kayser, MD Ph.D.
Department of Pathology
Thoraxklinik
Amalienstrasse 5
D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany
Telefax: (0049) 6221 396238
Telephone: (0049) 6221 396497

Secretary: Luis Goncalves, MD
Lote 4-6 esq
R.Luis Pastor Macedo
1750 Lisboa, Portugal
Telephone: 00351.1.7588139
Telefax: 00351.1.7161903

STORIES OF THE HISTORY

The European Commitee on Telepathology was founded during the 6th
International Congress on Quantitative Diagnostic Pathology held in Basels
1989. It was first considered to be an active group of pathologists
to support the creation of so-called Telepathology Centers in various
European States, and has now developed into an independent working group
within the European Society of Pathology. The first European Congress
on Telepathology was organized here in Heidelberg in 1992, and was the first
medical congress dealing solely with telepathology. It followed
Paris in 1994, and Zagreb in 1996.

Klaus Kayser, MD Ph.D.

THIRD EUROPEAN CONGRESS ON TELEPATHOLOGY

Zagreb June 21 and 22nd 1996

The Third European Congress on Telepathology, which is the official meeting
of the Commitee on Telepathology of the ESP, was held this summer
in Zagreb, Croatia. It was the third time, after Heidelberg and Paris that
the growing community of pathologists using telepathology gathered to
demonstrate their results and experiences, discuss their problems and lay
down new common guidelines.

Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, just went to celebrate 900 years of its
written history. The congress was held in the Faculty of Medicine
Building located on a small hill just above the centre of Zagreb.
Although the University of Zagreb has a history of over 300 years
(established 1669) the Medical Faculty was established only 70 years ago.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and
Technology, Participants from 16 countries, including USA, South Africa
and India, gave the meeting a truly international atmosphere stimulating
vivid scientific interchange.

The aim of the congress was not only to bring together established experts
from Western Europe, but to open new connections to affluent
centres in Central and Eastern parts of Europe. The coming of pathologists
from Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bulgaria
stimulated optimistically concerning the further development of telepathology
in these regions. In this, two invited lectures had a "where are we
now and what is the future" character: K. Kayser:
"Present status and future aspects of telepathology focusing on expert
consultations with countries of Eastern and Central part of
Europe"

and G. Brugal: "Multimedia communication and databases for pathology
practice, research and teaching: the Europath project of the European Union".

In their lectures the participants addressed many important issues from
the field of telepathology, such as: National and international networks,
Telepathology trough Internet, Telepathology using standard telephone lines,
ISDN or satellite, Technical and management aspects, Teleccytology,
Quantitative telepathology, Interactive image archive supporting
telepathology, Telepathology in routine, frozen sections and teaching.

Questions from the technical field and about standardisation were
addressed in the round table discussion. System demonstration included
standard telephone line still image connection to Slavonski Brod (Croatia)
- by VAMS-Zagreb - and an ISDN connection to Tenerife
(Canary Islands, Spain) - by Ericsson Nikola Tesla - Zagreb.

The social events included a dinner in the 16th century palace Dverce,
residence of the mayor of Zagreb and a whole day excursion to the national
park Plivite Lakes, under UNESCO protection as Wold Heritage.

Suen Seiwerth, M.D. Ph.D.

NEWS: Fourth European Congress on Telepathology
UDINE. Italy
June 1998

Organizer: Prof. Carlo A.Beltrami, MD
Cattedra di Anatomia Patologica
Policlinico Universitario Di Udine
I - 33100 Udine Italy

Telefax: **39-43-255-9420
Telephone: **39-43-255-9420