Software

A web-based system for tissue microarray data management

Vincenzo Della Mea^{* 1} , Irene Bin^{* 1} , Maura Pandolfi² and Carla Di Loreto^{* 2}

¹Medical Informatics and telemedicine Lab, Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Udine, Italy

²Section of Pathology, Dept. of Medical Morphological Research, University of Udine, Italy

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

Diagnostic Pathology 2006, 1:36doi:10.1186/1746-1596-1-36

Published:	11 October 2006

Abstract

Background

Tissue Microarray is a novel technique for analysing large amounts of immunohistochemically stained specimens. However, those large amounts make it difficult to design, prepare and analyze a tissue microarray, so that software support is almost inevitable.

Methods

We designed a tissue microarray data management system starting from specifications obtained by pathologists, and arranged for a preliminary validation in thyroid pathology.

Results

A web-based system has been developed, basing on open-source software and principles, that was well accepted by pathologists and allowed to carry out a study on 52 thyroid pathology cases.

Conclusion

Though limited in functionalities, the developed system is effective and can be downloaded at the address http://mitel.dimi.uniud.it/timan/ webcite.