Leica DMD108 User Manual
APPLICATION REPORT
Leica DMD108 in Remote Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Digital Microscopy
Proves its Value
Anja Schué, Leica Microsystems
When the surgeon in Varberg Hospital in the South of Sweden takes a tissue sample from a patient’s lymph node before a breast
operation, a frozen section is immediately produced for clinical diagnosis. But the pathology unit that makes the diagnosis is 70 kilometres away, in Halmstad County Hospital. Nevertheless, the pathologist there has the high resolution microscopic image before
his eyes immediately, as soon as the specimen preparation is complete.
That this is possible today can be at tributed first and
foremost to an innovative technology from Leica
Micro systems. The Leica DMD108 digital microscope was integrated into the videoconferencing
system of the two hospitals for that purpose in 20 07.
Dr. Tomas Seidal, Head of the Pathology and Cytology Depar tment at Halmstad Count y Hospital, talks
about his experiences with the Leica DMD108.
Dr. Seidal, how successful has the
introduction of digital microscopy been?
In our breast cancer diagnosis, the Leica DMD108
has proved excellent. We are extremely satisfied
with the system. The remote diagnosis saves us
from losing valuable time transporting samples. Our
pathologists are very pleased with the quality of image resolution and colour, and also with the easy,
user-friendly handling. And I would like to stress
that Leica Microsystems provided excellent support
for the installation of the Leica DMD108 equipment
and during the start-up phase.
“The Leica DMD108 is at the forefront of digital
microscopy techniques by now.”
The Leica DMD10 8 is also a great help to us in our
conferences with surgeons, pathologists and oncologists. I well remember how surprised and impressed all those involved were the first time they
saw the excellent qualit y of the microscope image
on the monitor. Another advantage is that microscope stage movements are immediately visible on
screen and easy to follow for the viewer.
In the days when we were still using several microscopes with discussion bridges and someone kept
moving the sample extremely quickly by hand, it
almos t made us seasick to watch.
Is remote microscopic diagnosis
here to stay in pathology?
The subject of telepathology has been discussed for
many years and is an innovation driver. The reasons
for the interest in telepathology are the increasing specialisation of medical centres and also the
specialisation of pathology itself – which entails a
growing need for a second opinion. Digital microscopy is a significant development in this contex t. It
offers fantastic image quality today and saves time,
although i t is not used everywhere yet .
Some pathologists are still sceptical and reluctant
to trust new technologies. Never theless, I think the
future belongs to virtual microscopy, even if it takes
a few years before it is fully accepted. It can lead to
shorter surgery times – not only in cases of breast
cancer, but also for other forms of cancer, where
biopsies are made during the operation. The digitisation of specimens and the integration of the data
in the patients’ files offer tremendous potential for
innovations and improvement of work routines.
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reSOLUTION
APPLICATION REPORT
Fig. 1: Diffuse metastatic growth of ductal breast carcinoma in a sentinel node. In the
lower righ t corner nor mal lymphocy tes can be seen.
Your Opinion is Valuable!
Dear Reader,
Which ar ticle in this edition of reSOLUTION did you like best? Which topic would
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Fig. 2: Normal l ymphnode with no me tas tatic grow th. The capsule of the node is well
preserved, which is impor tant for the possibilities to detect metastasis, which o ften
star ts in the sub-capsular area.
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Pathology & Diagnostics
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