Aug 16, 2013 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Pathology groups and clinical laboratories gain the benefits of increased connectivity, greater productivity, and a tool to reduce costs
Acceptance of digital pathology systems is growing steadily in both North America and Europe. One sign of this acceptance is the rapid increase in the purchase of digital pathology systems by anatomic pathology laboratories in these regions.
In fact, one consulting company says that the digital pathology market is poised to explode over the next seven to eight years. This will happen as medical laboratories acquire and deploy digital pathology systems to improve their connectivity with other providers, to improve productivity of pathologists, and as a tool to reduce costs. (more…)
Apr 16, 2010 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Leica Microsystem acquires Genetix while Omnyx licenses patents from Olympus
More pathology laboratories are acquiring and deploying digital scanners and digital pathology systems. In response to the growing demand for digital pathology solutions, several prominent companies are extending their capabilities in virtual microscope slide technology. Over recent months, an acquisition and a licensing deal provide examples of the intense activity in the digital pathology marketplace.
The acquisition was done by Leica Microsystem, Inc., of Wetzlar, Germany. On March 10th, it announced its acquisition of Genetix, Ltd., based in New Milton, UK. The licensing deal involved Omnyx, LLC, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in an agreement that gives it access to certain patents held by Olympus Corporation. Both of these transactions occurred in March. Each was motivated by initiating the company’s need to further develop its technologies in support of whole slide imaging (WSI) and digital pathology systems.
(more…)
Oct 16, 2009 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Are digital whole slide imaging systems ready to replace conventional light microscopy for diagnostic surgical pathology?
Next week, an FDA committee will consider whether to allow pathologists to use digital pathology systems for primary diagnosis. Even if the committee does not make a positive recommendation, the timing demonstrates the swift progress in the quality of digital pathology images and the systems that present them to the pathologists.
Digital pathology imaging systems are slowly replacing microscopes in the nation’s clinical labs. There is now enough momentum in the market for digital pathology imaging that the FDA’s Hematology and Pathology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee will meet October 22 and 23 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to hear from experts in digital imaging. (See agenda) The FDA review committee may later make recommendations on the public health issues related to the use of digital whole slide imaging systems to replace conventional light microscopy for diagnostic surgical pathology.
(more…)
Jul 31, 2009 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Aperio Technologies and Applied Spectral Imaging announce new products in July
Two new digital imaging products launched this month show that vendors are advancing the capabilities of digital imaging and digital pathology systems. Each company’s new product announcement touts the value of computer-aided diagnosis and computer pattern recognition for anatomic pathologists.
On July 9, Aperio Technologies, Inc., of Vista, California, launched its Digital IHC Solution for immunohistochemistry that features integrated image analysis for quantification of breast cancer. Aperio says that this is the only commercially available FDA-cleared system that allows pathologists to run quantitative IHC image analysis while reading slides on a computer monitor.
(more…)
Mar 26, 2009 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Digital Pathology Imaging: Coming Soon to a Pathology Group near You!
Will pathologists soon say “sayonara” to glass slides? Plenty of smart money already bets the answer to that question is “yes”! Every pathologist in the United States and abroad should be watching developments in whole slide imaging and digital pathology systems. That’s because digital pathology imaging is a trend with momentum-and it also has the potential to be disruptive, although probably not in the short term.
One powerful sign that digital imaging in pathology is ready to go mainstream is the take-up of digital imaging solutions and digital pathology systems by leading pathology laboratories in the United States and developed countries across the globe. These are academic and tertiary center pathology labs, along with major private pathology companies. As the pathology profession’s first-movers and early adopters, it is these laboratories which set the pace for the entire profession. Their acceptance and growing use of digital imaging and digital pathology systems can be taken as evidence that the current generation of imaging and informatics technologies perform adequately.
However, there is another powerful force propelling digital imaging forward in anatomic pathology. It is the emergence of molecular assays which incorporate digital images and use either computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) or pattern recognition software to help the pathologist make a precise diagnosis. By design, these molecular tests require the pathologist to work from a digital image of the specimen. At The Dark Report‘s second annual Molecular Summit on the Integration of In Vivo and In Vitro Diagnostics, conducted last February in Philadelphia, examples of these types of emerging assays were abundant. (more…)
