Bringing Virtual Microscopy to Marine Conservation: An Ocean of Possibilities

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Bringing Virtual Microscopy to Marine
Conservation An Ocean of Possibilities

• Presenter Margaret Rotstein, MS
• Senior Research Analyst
• NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
  Office of Protected Resources (OPR)

Synthesis Professional Services, Inc.
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Introduction

• The worlds oceans are increasingly threatened by
  impacts from pollution, habitat loss, invasive
  species, diseases, and global climate change
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
  Administration (NOAA) has been given the
  responsibility of protecting marine animals
  through science-based conservation and management
• Two of these programs, Coral Health and Disease
  Consortium (CHDC) and the Marine Mammal Health
  and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) have
  cooperated to improve the technology of sharing
  information on the histology and pathology of
  marine animals particularly corals and marine
  mammals

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Funding provided by

• Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response
  Program
• and

Coral Health and Disease Consortium
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Goals of Coral Health and Disease Consortium
(CHDC)

• Detect and assess trends in coral diseases at the
  necessary scales for scientific investigation and
  policy development.
• Determine the causes and consequences of
  increasing disease frequency and distribution.
• Evaluate possible management responses designed
  to mitigate the spread and affects of disease on
  coral reef ecosystems and their users.

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Goals of Marine Mammal Health and Stranding
Response Program (MMHSRP)

• Facilitate the collection and dissemination of
  reference data on health and health trends
• Correlate the health and health trends with
  physical, chemical and biological environmental
  parameters
• Coordinate effective responses to Unusual
  Mortality Events (a stranding that is
  unexpected involves a significant die-off of
  any marine mammal population and demands
  immediate response)

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The Challenge

• A global community of researchers require an
  efficient, low-cost solution to
• consult with each other on unique cases
• educate students and other scientists
• rapidly respond to unusual disease outbreaks or
  mortality events
• Establish a framework to systematically study
  pathologies
• Standardize disease pathological descriptions
• Standardize normal morphological structure

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The Challenge

• Coral Histology and Histopathology
• Basic biology of normal corals is poorly
  understood
• Understanding of coral pathology is limited to
  descriptions of gross lesions
• Names reflect observations (e.g. black band,
  white band, dark spot)
• Our lack of understanding of the underlying
  mechanisms of coral pathologies inhibits our
  ability to manage the growing coral health
  problems

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Status of Understanding Coral Health and Disease
Coral
Middle Ages
21st Century
Courtesy Dr. T. Work, USGS
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Requirements

• High resolution digital imaging of glass
  microscope slides
• Software that provides Internet conferencing and
  annotation of digital slides
• Web-based Internet application that integrates
  databases with virtual slides to provide
  educational modules, training and case-based
  records

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Working Towards a Solution

• October 2006 through a partnership with MMHRSP
  and CDHC, purchase of Aperio Technologies, Inc
  Software and Scanning Services
• Plan to purchase ScanScope scanner in future
• Development of web-based application and back-end
  database to
• Record histopathology data on Marine Mammal
  Strandings
• Link to data to associated slides on Aperio
  Server
• Provide library of reference coral slides showing
  normal and abnormal histology
• Implement virtual rounds
• Provide education modules

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Web-based ApplicationFunctionality

• Consultation
• Standardization / Terminology
• Consensus on nomenclature of coral anatomy
• Consensus on all pathologies of marine mammals
  (conditions, diseases and injuries)
• Mass Stranding Events / Disease Outbreaks
• Crisis events digital images made available to
  experts world-wide for rapid response
• Review of findings from disease outbreaks
• Special Cases
• Unique cases that require consultation /
  letigation

Audience experts
M. Moore, WHOI
Periosteal proliferation of entangled humerus in
Right Whale
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Web-based ApplicationFunctionality

• Training and Communication
• Virtual Rounds
• Web-based submissions, scheduling and case
  write-ups
• Utilize Aperios Digital Slide Conferencing
  feature in ScanScope
• Individual Cases
• Digital library of coral and marine mammal
  histology slides
• Education modules to demonstrate normal and
  abnormal histology
• Standard Nomenclature
• Training scientists on the terminology used in
  coral
• and marine mammal pathology

Audience students, pathologists, marine
biologists
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Web-based ApplicationFunctionality

• Education
• web-enabled distance learning
• Normal Histology
• Pathology of common conditions
• Standardization / Terminology

Audience public
Anatomy of Coral
Gas-filled cavities in the liver of a stranded
common dolphin
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Solutions

• Database Oracle 10g
• Web server - Apache
• Virtual Microscope Server Aperio Technologies
• Application Server ColdFusion MX

Oracle DB Server
Virtual Microscope Server
NOAA Hardware Configuration
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Internet Application
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Internet Application
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Internet Application
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Internet Application
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Internet Application
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Internet Application
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Event-Based Software and Data
Core Biomedical Software and Data
Virtual Microscope Aperio Software (NMFS/NOS)
Education Virtual Rounds Cases (NMFS/NOS)
Controls access and security
NMAHD
Clinical Pathology (NOS)SQL Server
Unusual Mortality Event (NMFS)
NOAA PORTALMain Entry
WWW
Diagnostic Pathology (NMFS) Oracle
Cora l Health Disease(NOS)
Contaminates (NWFSC, NIST) MS Access DB
MMHRSP(NMFS)
Subsistence HuntBy-Catch and others
Biotoxins
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Acknowledgments

• Marine Mammal Health Stranding Response Program
• Teri Rowles, PhD, DVM
• David Rotstein, DVM, MPVM, DACVP
• Kathy Burek, DVM, MS, DACVP
• Angela Collins-Payne, Information Specialist
• Coral Health and Disease Consortium
• Cheryl Woodley, PhD

Skin Lesion in Bottlenose dolphin
Infected Sea Fan with Aspergillosis sydowii