Digital Pathology Consults Go Mobile
In a strange bit of marketing irony I received this card in the mail today from UPMC. Exciting news about a new iPhone/microscope appliance to capture and send images for consult to a bevy of over 100 pathologists performing consults within a subspeciality/Center of Excellence model.
Just the way they went about making a splash with the news is analogous to when the College of American Pathologists sends outs letters notifying us there will be an upcoming electronic vote for elected officers of the College. Can’t news like this, mentioning electronic delivery of media and news actually be sent electronically or does this say something more about our very specialty?
UPMC of course has been a leader in imaging, telepathology, whole slide imaging and all things pathology informatics for decades.
Perhaps I am making more out of it than there is. And perhaps getting a post card with multiple colors does make the point – the intended audience may be those who are short on technology, short on resources or adverse to electronic marketing. Maybe this is the marketing message. Missing a camera on your microscope or a whole slide scanner but in need of subspecialty expertise? We have a solution for you. With this device and your cell phone (now really just called “phone”) you too can now have experts available to you with a few clicks.
The back of the postcard mentions the history of UPMC and their digital consultation services worldwide.
Visit www.pathology.upmc.edu for more information or contact Anil Parwani, MD, PhD (parwaniav@upmc.edu; 412-623-1326) or Liron Pantanowitz, MD (pantanowitzl@upmc.edu; 412-623-3746).
