Abstract
In recent years the number of described malformations and syndromes has increased rapidly. The diagnosis of fetal malformations requires extensive experience. Since important questions often arise during the autopsy, requiring a second opinion or additional input without interruption of the autopsy, telepathology offers one means of solving this problem. The system employed was TPS Version 1.5, which was developed in a cooperative effort by the Charité and Leica Microsystems. If there is no pathologist available for a second opinion during the autopsy TPS enables the investigator to save pictures taken during the autopsy so that they can be sent at a later point in time to an expert for a second opinion. In a study comprising 10 cases the image quality and the communication possibilities of TPS were evaluated, with the online communication being compared with respect to suitability, time required and quality. Telepathology can be used in fetal diagnostics. It allows a second opinion to be obtained either during or after the autopsy, under routine conditions where a call for a second opinion is normally not possible. This improves the quality of diagnoses.
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