PATHOLOGY’S 10-person microscope
provides multiple benefits to Baylor patients
Peter A. Dysert II, M.D., chief
of pathology and director of the
pathology residency program at
Baylor University Medical Center
at Dallas, says he is certain of one
thing: the study of disease is too
vast a knowledge set for any single person to master. With the addition of a new 10-headed microscope, funded by Baylor Health
Care System Foundation, pathologists and pathology residents have
a new educational and diagnostic tool that will further enhance
training and patient outcomes at
Baylor Health Care System.
Pathologists and pathology residents use a 10-headed scope to review cases as a group.
The 10-headed scope is primarily used for a “Daily
Case Review Conference” that allows pathologists to
review slides on challenging cases as a group. This
form of intra-departmental consultation provides an
educational opportunity to discuss difficult cases in a
collaborative environment. These engaged physicians
have lively, comprehensive discussion about the patient’s diagnosis.
The microscope also serves as a valuable teaching
tool. Pathology residents are not only able to sit in on
discussions between pathologists as they review cases,
but are able to simultaneously view the slide images in
real-time on a 60-inch, flat screen monitor, providing
virtually the same effect of sitting at the scope themselves. The 10-headed scope also facilitates the presen-
tation and discussion of complex cases to residents and
staff at the “Unknown Conference,” an opportunity to
discuss the symptoms and conditions of a patient when
the diagnosis is uncertain.
“It is huge to bring together the experiences of 10 to
15 pathology experts at one time – with a collective experience of several hundred years – to provide more accurate diagnoses for Baylor patients, especially involving complex cases,” said Dr. Dysert. “This 10-headed
microscope is the single biggest improvement, from my
vantage point, that has been made in our practice of surgical pathology in the last 10 years.”
Last year, the Foundation raised more than $1.5 million in support of medical education at Baylor.
For more information on Baylor’s medical education initiatives,
contact Elizabeth Denton at 214.820.4070 or [email protected].
give.baylorhealth.com
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