Using a microscope digital camera and video conference are just some of the components of telemicroscopy. Although still in its infancy stage, telemicroscopy has already helped broaden people’s knowledge and understanding of the various facets of science.
Telemicroscopy and Telepathology
The birth of telepathology came during the early 1990’s. Telepathology refers to the use of electronic equipment in viewing, studying, and analyzing diagnostic pathology images at a distance. Telepathology allows people located in different places to view and access the same images at real-time with the help of microscope digital camera and video conference technology.
Telemicroscopy is closely linked to telepathology because the former makes the latter possible. Telemicroscopy involves the use of microscopes, which may or may not be remotely-operated, and a video conference system. In most cases, a telemicroscopy session involves a remote operator and an on-site doctor discussing the samples being studied.
There are two types of telemicroscopy in use today.
Passive Telemicroscopy – The remote operator will be supervising the whole presentation from a facility equipped with the necessary technology. Other people connected to the video conference system may be anywhere else as they’ll only be observing the presentation.
Active Telemicroscopy – Both the operator and viewers must be in a place that will grant them immediate access and use to pertinent electronic equipment. In active telemicroscopy video conferences, even the users are granted remote control over the images being shared. Specialized software programs may also be needed.
How Telemicroscopy Works
Specimens that will be used or presented during the video conference session must be prepared in advance. Next, equipment needed for the session must be configured. This may include but is not limited to a microscope digital camera, Internet-ready computers, and maybe extra monitors.
The operator may be aided by a crew responsible for supervising sending of data via the network and organization of photos. Photos of the specimen must be taken at both low and high power. Once the session begins, the operator and other users may remotely control the images in terms of magnification, microscope stage positioning, and focus.
The type of network used has a critical effect on the quality and effectiveness of the telemicroscopy session. At the very least, the network you’ll use in your session must satisfy the following requirements:
Firstly, the network must capable of grayscale video streaming between the facilities where the microscope digital camera is in operation and the other remote sites. Video streaming must possess constant bit rates to produce smooth videos and it must last till the end of the session. Maximum frame rate is also important.
Network engineers must also be employed to gather statistical data regarding network traffic and especially when transpacific exchange will occur between the operator and remote users of the telemicroscopy session.
Limitations of the Internet and Other Problems of Telemicroscopy Sessions
It’s impossible for telemicroscopy sessions not to be affected by the limitations of the Internet since the World Wide Web is the only way for photos taken with a microscope digital camera can be quickly exchanged.
When something goes wrong, the TCP/ICP protocol will always resend any packet it receives in error – even if there is no need for resending. This will cause a delay on receiving other packets in a domino effect. At the moment, there is no video transport protocol capable of automatically determining which packets should and shouldn’t be resent. This inadequacy results to greater waste of bandwidth, bounded latency, slower frame rates, and of course delay anxiety.
Another problem with the Internet is its inability to provide instant feedback regarding the applications used. Thus, there is no quick way for the operator or the on-site crew to assess the network’s current load and consequently use it to adjust frame rate and quality.
The unpredictable performance of networking systems in general is also a serious problem. When focusing control is offered to remote users, the network must be sure they can provide constant latency for both control and video streaming. If not, remote users may simply continue adjusting the microscope’s focus on the basis of what they can see and not what’s really happening since they’re receiving delayed images. As such, remote users must always be reminded to wait for a short period of time after each adjustment so that images can be refreshed.
Also, if your group doesn’t qualify for the few IPv4 global address space available in the Internet, you have no choice but to use a private address space and network address translators (NAT), which is a more difficult process.
Today, only few people with ready access to sophisticated equipment, which not only includes microscope digital camera technology and video conference systems but a lot more electronic devices, can host telemicroscopy sessions. It is everyone’s hope that this will soon change for the betterment of everyone.