Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance.
BACKGROUND: The basis for correctly assessing the burden of parasitic infections and the effects of interventions relies on a somewhat shaky foundation as long as we do not know how reliable the reported laboratory findings are. Thus virtual microscopy, successfully introduced as a histopathology to...
Published in: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d6291fadda1b49feaea061a5f97b6d0a 2023-05-15T15:15:18+02:00 Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. Ewert Linder Mikael Lundin Cecilia Thors Marianne Lebbad Jadwiga Winiecka-Krusnell Heikki Helin Byron Leiva Jorma Isola Johan Lundin 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000315 https://doaj.org/article/d6291fadda1b49feaea061a5f97b6d0a EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2565642?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000315 https://doaj.org/article/d6291fadda1b49feaea061a5f97b6d0a PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 2, Iss 10, p e315 (2008) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2008 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000315 2022-12-31T09:48:48Z BACKGROUND: The basis for correctly assessing the burden of parasitic infections and the effects of interventions relies on a somewhat shaky foundation as long as we do not know how reliable the reported laboratory findings are. Thus virtual microscopy, successfully introduced as a histopathology tool, has been adapted for medical parasitology. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Specimens containing parasites in tissues, stools, and blood have been digitized and made accessible as a "webmicroscope for parasitology" (WMP) on the Internet (http://www.webmicroscope.net/parasitology).These digitized specimens can be viewed ("navigated" both in the x-axis and the y-axis) at the desired magnification by an unrestricted number of individuals simultaneously. For virtual microscopy of specimens containing stool parasites, it was necessary to develop the technique further in order to enable navigation in the z plane (i.e., "focusing"). Specimens were therefore scanned and photographed in two or more focal planes. The resulting digitized specimens consist of stacks of laterally "stiched" individual images covering the entire area of the sample photographed at high magnification. The digitized image information (approximately 10 GB uncompressed data per specimen) is accessible at data transfer speeds from 2 to 10 Mb/s via a network of five image servers located in different parts of Europe. Image streaming and rapid data transfer to an ordinary personal computer makes web-based virtual microscopy similar to conventional microscopy. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The potential of this novel technique in the field of medical parasitology to share identical parasitological specimens means that we can provide a "gold standard", which can overcome several problems encountered in quality control of diagnostic parasitology. Thus, the WMP may have an impact on the reliability of data, which constitute the basis for our understanding of the vast problem of neglected tropical diseases. The WMP can be used also in the absence of a fast ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic The ''Y'' ENVELOPE(-112.453,-112.453,57.591,57.591) PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2 10 e315 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Ewert Linder Mikael Lundin Cecilia Thors Marianne Lebbad Jadwiga Winiecka-Krusnell Heikki Helin Byron Leiva Jorma Isola Johan Lundin Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: The basis for correctly assessing the burden of parasitic infections and the effects of interventions relies on a somewhat shaky foundation as long as we do not know how reliable the reported laboratory findings are. Thus virtual microscopy, successfully introduced as a histopathology tool, has been adapted for medical parasitology. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Specimens containing parasites in tissues, stools, and blood have been digitized and made accessible as a "webmicroscope for parasitology" (WMP) on the Internet (http://www.webmicroscope.net/parasitology).These digitized specimens can be viewed ("navigated" both in the x-axis and the y-axis) at the desired magnification by an unrestricted number of individuals simultaneously. For virtual microscopy of specimens containing stool parasites, it was necessary to develop the technique further in order to enable navigation in the z plane (i.e., "focusing"). Specimens were therefore scanned and photographed in two or more focal planes. The resulting digitized specimens consist of stacks of laterally "stiched" individual images covering the entire area of the sample photographed at high magnification. The digitized image information (approximately 10 GB uncompressed data per specimen) is accessible at data transfer speeds from 2 to 10 Mb/s via a network of five image servers located in different parts of Europe. Image streaming and rapid data transfer to an ordinary personal computer makes web-based virtual microscopy similar to conventional microscopy. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The potential of this novel technique in the field of medical parasitology to share identical parasitological specimens means that we can provide a "gold standard", which can overcome several problems encountered in quality control of diagnostic parasitology. Thus, the WMP may have an impact on the reliability of data, which constitute the basis for our understanding of the vast problem of neglected tropical diseases. The WMP can be used also in the absence of a fast ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ewert Linder Mikael Lundin Cecilia Thors Marianne Lebbad Jadwiga Winiecka-Krusnell Heikki Helin Byron Leiva Jorma Isola Johan Lundin |
author_facet |
Ewert Linder Mikael Lundin Cecilia Thors Marianne Lebbad Jadwiga Winiecka-Krusnell Heikki Helin Byron Leiva Jorma Isola Johan Lundin |
author_sort |
Ewert Linder |
title |
Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
title_short |
Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
title_full |
Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
title_fullStr |
Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
title_sort |
web-based virtual microscopy for parasitology: a novel tool for education and quality assurance. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000315 https://doaj.org/article/d6291fadda1b49feaea061a5f97b6d0a |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-112.453,-112.453,57.591,57.591) |
geographic |
Arctic The ''Y'' |
geographic_facet |
Arctic The ''Y'' |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 2, Iss 10, p e315 (2008) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2565642?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000315 https://doaj.org/article/d6291fadda1b49feaea061a5f97b6d0a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000315 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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2 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
e315 |
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