Came across this as a CAP Today commercial message from Cleveland Clinic entitled "Diagnose Patients Faster with Cleveland Clinic Labs"

eIHC solutions similar to Clarient it appears with Ventana images and Aperio scanning platform
Additional Materials  eIHC Brochure  AP Special Stains  IHC Requisition Leveraging Digital Image Technology for Rapid Interpretation of Immunohistochemical (IHC) Stained Slides Incorporating technological advances in digital imaging (eSlides) enhances research, education, and patient care across the street and around the world. Cleveland Clinic Laboratories now offers web-based eSlides of IHC-stained slides to help optimize clinical workflow for IHC. In collaboration with Aperio, a provider and global leader of ePathology Solutions, a secure internet site provides access for clients to read immunohistochemically stained eSlides on a computer monitor anytime, anywhere. When a case is opened, all case, specimen and slide information, as well as controls are conveniently at your fingertips. The service provides access to eSlide conferencing and secure messaging allowing the pathology community to engage in dialog and exchange information. The opportunity to view stained eSlides within 24 hours after the blocks arrive at Cleveland Clinic may help clients follow a staining algorithm rather than requesting batches of stains, some of which may ultimately be unnecessary. For more information, please contact: Cleveland Clinic Laboratories Client Services 216.444.5755 or 800.628.6816 (toll-free) ClientServices@ccf.org

A new analysis has found that doing away with PSA (prostate specific antigen) testing for prostate cancer would likely cause three times as many men to develop advanced disease that has spread to other parts of the body before being diagnosed. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study suggests that PSAtesting and early detection may prevent approximately 17,000 men each year from having such advanced prostate cancer at diagnosis.

PSA testing has come under fire recently as a potentially ineffective screen for prostate cancer. Last year a government panel reviewed the available evidence and concluded that PSAtesting has little or no benefit and that doctors are finding and treating non-aggressive cancers that are not likely to cause symptoms or be lethal. Therefore, many men may be experiencing serious treatment side effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction for no reason.

To see what might happen if PSA testing were abandoned, Edward Messing, MD, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, and his team looked at information from the years immediately before routine PSA testing was done (1983-1985) and compared it to the current era of widespread PSA testing (2006 to 2008). The information for the analysis came from the nation’s largest cancer registry, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The researchers were particularly interested in the records of patients who had advanced prostate cancer that had already spread to other parts of the body at the time of diagnosis. These cases are generally incurable and always cause significant symptoms very quickly if left untreated.

The investigators found that approximately 8,000 cases of prostate cancer had already spread to distant sites (i.e. – metastases) at the time of diagnosis in the United States in 2008 (the most recent SEER year). Next, they designed a mathematical model that used pre-PSA incidence rates of metastatic disease from the mid-1980s to estimate the number of such advanced cases that would be expected to occur in 2008 if PSA screening had not been done. They predicted the number would be approximately 25,000, which is about three times greater than the number actually observed.

“Our findings are very important in light of the recent controversy over PSA testing,” said Dr. Messing. “Although there are trade-offs associated with the PSA test and many factors influence the disease outcome, our data clearly indicate that not doing the PSA test will result in many more men presenting with far advanced prostate cancer. Almost all men with clinically apparent metastases at initial diagnosis will die from prostate cancer,” he added.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the male population. In 2012 an estimated 241,740 new cases will be diagnosed and 28,000 deaths will occur. Prognosis depends on whether the cancer has spread, and the degree to which the cancer cells are abnormal.

(Reuters) Jul 23 - A former lab technician faces charges in connection with a hepatitis C outbreak that reportedly infected dozens of patients at a New Hampshire hospital, authorities said.

David Michael Kwiatkowski, 32, is charged with obtaining controlled substances by fraud and tampering with a consumer product, U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas said this week.

The outbreak at the Exeter Hospital Cardiac Catheterization Unit is believed to have infected some 30 people with the disease, considered the most serious of hepatitis strains, authorities said. Hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis, and kills more people each year than HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The evidence gathered to date points irrefutably to Kwiatkowski as the source of the hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital," Kacavas said. "With his arrest, we have eliminated the menace this 'serial infector' posed to public health and safety."

Kwiatkowski, who worked in the lab until the investigation launched in May, has hepatitis C and is accused of stealing syringes of the pain medication Fentanyl intended for patients. Authorities say he would then inject himself with the drug, then replace it in the tainted syringe with saline solution, which would then be injected into the patient, Kacavas said.

The investigation included testing some 1,100 patients from as far back as October 2010 before Kwiatkowski was identified as a suspect.

"It is deeply disturbing that the alleged callous acts of one individual can have such an impact on so many innocent lives. As a result of his alleged actions, people in our community, who in many cases are the friends and neighbors of the 2,300 people who work here, now face the challenge of a potentially chronic disease," said Kevin Callahan, President and CEO of Exeter Hospital.

Kwiatkowski worked at the hospital in Exeter, New Hampshire, since April 2011 and had been diagnosed with hepatitis C for a year before that, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Hampshire.

Originally from Michigan, Kwiatkowski worked as a traveling contract medical technician in six other states, which has prompted CDC officials and the U.S. Attorney's office to check into potential public health threats in those states.

Kwiatkowski was arrested on Thursday at a hospital in Massachusetts, where he was being treated for an undisclosed illness. He was expected to be taken into federal custody in New Hampshire upon his discharge from the hospital, authorities said.

The tampering charge carries a 20-year prison sentence, and the controlled substance charge carries up to four years.

Hepatitis C afflicts more than 4 million Americans. Up to 85% will develop chronic infection. Of those, 75% will get chronic liver disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Roper Industries Buys Sunquest for $1.4B, Reports 8% Leap in 2Q Profit
 

After reporting stronger year-over-year quarterly earnings, Roper Industries (ROP: 99.45, -0.19, -0.19%) said it is buying privately-held diagnostic and laboratory software maker Sunquest Information Systems for $1.4 billion in cash.

The Sarasota, Fla.-based medical and scientific imaging software developer said the acquisition of Tucson, Okla.-based Sunquest, a leader in labs software, will help its medical software platforms benefit from an aging population and expansion of anatomic pathology.

"We continue to transform the enterprise with the addition of Sunquest," Roper CEO Brian Jellison said in a statement. “We expect Sunquest to benefit in all economic environments from very favorable market forces.”

Sunquest and its products will continue to operate under current brand names. The deal, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close within 30 days.

Roper, meanwhile, reported on Monday net earnings of $115 million, or $1.15 a share, up 8% from a year ago. Revenue climbed 4% to $725 million, led by an 8% increase in orders to $763 million.

Analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll were looking for earnings of $1.15 a share on higher sales of $747 million.

"We achieved record second quarter revenue and earnings, as our businesses continued to execute well in the current uncertain economic environment,” Jellison said.

Shares of Roper ticked 7% higher Monday to a new all-time high

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/07/30/roper-industries-buys-sunquest-for-14b-reports-8-leap-in-2q-profit/#ixzz22Ffklq6Z

I received some feedback, e-mails, questions, comment and death threats about my recent posting entitled  "94% of Pathologists Agree Digital Pathology Will Become Common Practice"

One in particular I have extracted from a LinkedIn message board in response to my feed to the group. If you are a member of this particular group you may have seen this.  If not, to protect the innocent, I will leave the respondents name anonymous. His comments are in plain text with my opinion in italics and/or bold. 

"This is a very interesting, yet misleading headline.
This is not one-size-fits all.
I think that when one reads this headline, it is our impression that digital pathology will replace the standard microscope and H&E slides. Not a chance, in my opinion, in the next few years. I have replied on this topic many times before. This is NOT, however, stating that digital pathology will not be adopted."

-- Of course the title is misleading.  And interesting. Not as misleading as "Dewey Defeats Truman", "Mission Accomplished" or "New Coke Better Than Old Coke" but I appreciate you calling my little blog post title a "Headline" nonetheless.  Trying to promote content here so I used this title as opposed to "6% of those surveyed say chances of digital pathology adoption equal to Cubs chances of winning the World Series (NEVER)".  After Steve Bartman I may lose some friends on da North Side. Anyways, you read the piece and commented so the headline had some attraction which is what a blogger needs - catch those 2 or 3 minutes out of your day to read what I write among all the other things you want and have to do including reading legitimate news sources.

If the headline read "Digital Pathology to Replace Microscope in 10 years" that might be misleading and completely inaccurate, in my opinion.  I actually think it will become part of common practice but not replace common practice.  Perhaps 20 or 40% of work will integrate or involve digital pathology but not selling my stock in wax, glass or microscope companies just yet so I think we can agree on this.

"One has to look at the APPLICATION of digital pathology. Let's look first at routine pathology. Digital is a LONG way off. Why?....here are some thoughts.
1. It can't compete with routine H&E for in expense. Digitizing slides just adds expense.
2. Digital can't replace the routine H&E. The slide still has to be produced. (unlike radiology which eliminated the need for film)
3. The "look and feel" of a slide still has not been replicated by digital.
4. It's still more reliable to store a physical glass slide for 10 years than a digital file.
5. I still can look at an H&E slide with a microscope that uses a mirror for illumination, and it won't take any power to run a computer (the ULTIMATE green solution)."

-- I agree with many points made here.  Scanning adds costs.  A nickel H&E may result in a 90 cent image that has to be acquired, labelled, archived, stored, backed up and eventually perhaps disposed of.  Have made this argument before - unlike radiology which starts with digital CT and MR images that initially were printed on pieces of plastic for viewing on light boxes and "hot lamps" analagous to those used by Roentgen himself, pathology, tissue, histology is well founded in physical analogs as mentioned above in terms of wax, glass and stain after the tissue have been collected, heated, cooled, baked, fried and stained.  The cost issue I think does go out the window a bit if we speak to the points you make below about looking at something 1000 miles away.  This helps costs:benefit ratio business case argument.  More below on this.

-- "Look and feel" best used by interior decorators, not physicians.  As far as imaging is concerned, Kodak use to make film, lots of film and now they don't and they are still bankrupt.  I still try to shoot some hobby photos with film.  Takes weeks to get it ordered and longer to get it developed.  Have to send to Atlanta.  Nearest place from Charlotte to send film to be developed.  Doesn't anyone use 110 or 35 mm anymore? Anyways, look and feel overrated and this will be improved.  I like the grainy nature too of good old black and white film and a long f/stop but I can do some much more with digital.

-- And this is the analogy (no pun intended), like radiology, we are going to see so many more deliverables with digital, just as radiology has with 3D imaging and the like that we can do with 2-dimensional pink and blue stained images (or bichrome IHCs).  

-- "Slide storage" and "reliable" are not usually words I put in the same sentence.  Take the case from last week the patient wants sent to a medical school pathology department and the slides "are not in file".  Or the slides are in the file room, but misfiled.  Or the slides are not filed.  Granted, most of the time it works.  Digital would be no less reliable, perhaps more secure and perhaps most importantly, not only stored, but sharable, to your points below.  Rent and expense of slide file room versus 100 TB of server space in terms of costs over 3 or 5 years?  With wind and solar energy running the factories and powering our homes and businesses, costs of either would be very low.

"Now....for specialty uses....Digital beats glass...

1. Send an image a 1000 miles away for a consultation.
2. Send an image of an IHC or FISH for analysis from a 1000 miles away.
3. any permutation of the above."

 --  Could not agree more. One of the two most tangible ROIs for digital pathology, today, remain, tele-pathology, tele-consultation, tele-IHC, virtual consultation, virtual IHC, tele-peer review, tele-whatever, remote screen share, image host, same slide, same time.  No substitute for this in medicine and pathology.  And with Pathology 2.0 - the power of the cloud to harness collective intelligence.  The other tangible use case/application for digital pathology is image analysis.  FDA cleared algorithms and CPT codes for reimbursement.

"There are also some other applications that simply cannot be done on an old H&E slide that is easy with digital (if there are any companies out there interested...let me know). At this point, they will remain un-published."

-- When the times comes I welcome you to publish your thoughts here.

"Let me know where you think I am going wrong. I would like to hear your thoughts..."

-- Thanks for the thoughtful comments and dialogue.