Telepathology consultation in China using whole slide image and an internet based platform

Background Telepathology is a particularly useful pathological tool suitable for developing countries such as China, which generates a large number of pathology specimens each year due to the size of its population but has a shortage of well trained and experienced pathologists in primary cares hospitals and hospitals within under-developed regions. Pathologists in these hospitals often have difficulty diagnosing challenging pathology cases. Telepathology, especially second opinion or teleconsultation is one of the solutions to this problem [1-3]. We reported an internet based open telepathology consultation platform using whole slide images (WSI) in China. The results from the telepathology consultation service since inception have been analyzed and summarized for this publication. We believe that our experiences will help to promote telepathology in China and in other developing countries.