O-8Detection of human telomerase gene (TERC) amplification in cervical neoplasia: a retrospective study of 50 patients with normal smears or mild or moderate dyskaryosis

Circulation E of the North West non gynaecological cytology EQA scheme was split into two with one half receiving conventional glass slides and the other half receiving digital images supplied by the SlidePath company over the web. More of the participants eligible participated in the slide half (43/65) than the digital half (17/41).
Similar results were obtained for seven out of ten of the scoring cases and for both the educational cases. However for one case eight of the digital participants could not obtain the images over the web. In the remaining three scoring cases the digital participants were less good at obtaining the correct answer compared to the slide based participants. The use of this virtual microscopy has shortened the circulation length considerably. The digital participants complained about the speed the digital slides appeared on their computers and whilst most agreed that this is the way forward they are still uncomfortable with their performance being marked on their digital submissions. Delegates will have the opportunity of viewing still images taken for each case from this circulation.