In February 1975 an American team visited several research institutions and hospitals in Japan to hold a meeting with Japanese scientists and to observe the on-going research on cytology in Japan. The visits were made for two purposes: 1) to review the state of the art of automated cytology in Japan and to permit an exchange of information between those Japanese and American scientists involved in this field of investigation and 2) to explore areas for future collaborative research in cytology between scientists. It was observed that the Japanese scientists, in cooperation with several electronics firms, are developing instruments for cytology automation using automatic staining processes and cytologic scanners. The instruments measure the nucleus size and shape, nuclear-cytoplasm ratio and nuclear density of the specimens. The instrumental developments are similar to those in the U.S.
It was observed that there should be more attention placed on the preparation and standardization of specimens for these studies.
The outcome of the February 1975 meeting indicated that long-range objectives for cooperation should be focused on 1) field testing and epidemiology, 2) procedures for standardizing cytologic tests at the clinical level, 3) information exchanges on special techniques in cytology, 4) investigative cytology directed toward clinical application of cytologic research, such as cyto-chemistry and immunocytology, and 5) continued effort in the development of cytology automation with the exchange of research information, identification of individuals engaged in cytology research, and the exchange of scientific personnel for information and collaborative research.
As a result of this meeting, the program of the second seminar held in June 1975 in San Francisco was agreed to include presentation of the work going on in the static system as well as flow systems for automated cytology, along with discussions about techniques for evaluation in the field testing of cytology automated equipment. The application of other areas of cancer research including immunology to cytology and histo-chemical procedures to cytology along with studies of aspiration cytology were also included.
The two meetings held in 1975 showed that the Japanese scientists had developed an innovative kit for self-collection of specimens utilized for detection studies and there has been a rapid advancement in equipment design and construction for automated cytology. There are possibilities for field testing in Japan which are not readily available in the U.S., particularly those based on the stability of the population and follow-up studies. There are very good possibilities for collaboration in rapid screening technology and computer development. The Japanese group has excellent opportunities for cooperation between academic scientists and industrial researchers for developing new techniques and equipment. It is very apparent that the American Working Group can learn much from the experience of the Japanese researchers. The main obstacle in automated cytology is the standardization of cytologic preparation for image processing for automation. Therefore, it is important to establish and maintain a good avenue for the exchange of research data and information at the present time and in the near future.
The three Japanese scientists sent to the U.S. Laboratories promoted contacts between the U.S. and Japanese scientists in areas of cytology. It is desirable to accelerate the U.S. scientists to visit Japan. The discussions at the June 1975 meeting were directed toward the next phase of the program: it was agreed that a seminar should be organized in 1976 in Hawaii prior to the International Academy of Cytology meeting in Tokyo in May 1977, and that the both coordinators would act as clearinghouse for dissemination of information.