Telepathology in Japan

Abstract

A concept of telemedicine has been present from old days, and occasionally the necessity appeared in private and public lives. Recently, with the progression of information technology (IT), telemedicine has been of interest not only to the medical field but also to the government (Fig. 10.1). Telemedicine in Japan is comprised of mainly three factors: one is telehomecare, the second is teleradiol-ogy, and the third is telepathology, in which pathological and/or cytological images are transferred from medical institutes to the pathologists in remote institutes by cables (Fig. 10.2). Several causative factors that promote the telepathology in Japan are considered as shown in Fig. 10.3. One of the most important factors is a shortage of diagnostic pathologists. Before addressing telepathology itself, it is important to get a quick overview of diagnostic pathology in Japan. Then characteristic of Japanese telepathology is introduced and discussed from the medical, economical, and technological aspects for next development. © Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2009.