Big Midwestern University

The Story of BMU (“Big Midwestern University”), or How the Department of Pathology of a large, urban Midwestern university successfully implemented dynamic, “real-time” telepathology at the small hospitals and medical centers in the towns and hamlets of its state.

In mid-2010, the Department of Pathology at a very large Midwestern public university (to which will be referred hereinafter as “Big Midwestern University”, or BMU) decided to seek a telepathology tool which would allow its pathologists to consult and to make judgments dynamically and in “real-time” about freshly prepared pathology slides over the Internet at small hospitals and medical centers at distant in-state locations – without leaving their offices and labs.

The 3 key decision-makers in the Department were the vice-chair, the head of anatomic pathology division, and the pathology informaticist. We provided two “virtual” demonstrations to the decision-makers and several of their colleagues – right at a workstation in their own conference room. The demos were interactive: the BMU pathologists were able to “tune” the color of their own workstations, to point and to circle artifacts and anomalies in the prepared slides, and to capture images digitally for further use and archiving.

After the second demo the decision-makers were so pleased with what they had seen (especially the very quick response time) that they decided to implement the system with a “go live” date in the early summer of 2011. However, within a week of this decision we received a call from the project manager at BMU asking us if we could move that “go live” date forward to…December 1, 2011! After much scrambling we committed to making the revised date, and BMU’s pathologists threw the switch to “go live” on December 1, 2011 at 1:30pm CST.

As is appropriate to a very complex and sophisticated implementation (& an exceedingly complex digital network configuration), BMU’s telepathology implementation plan calls for multiple phases.

Phase 1 includes RMT basic package at one of its distant hospital affiliates (the hub) with 2 viewing locations (the spokes) at the Dept of Pathology on BMU’s campus.

Phase 2 provides for adding RMT’s technology for an HD grossing camera at the first affiliate (mid-2011).

Phase 3 provides for adding an additional telepathology hub at a second in-state hospital affiliate (4Q/2011).

Phase 4 provides for adding the robotic (or remote) controls of the stage, the changing of the objectives, and the changing of focus (TBA).

Phase 5 adds additional telepathology hubs and grossing cameras (mid-2012 and thereafter).

To learn more about how RMT’s HD TelePathology System can extend, expand and enhance your Department’s reach and impact – as well as provide additional revenue-generating opportunities – please contact Roger Forsberg of RMT at 651.698.4874.