Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s Inaugural

Digital Pathology

Request a copy of Program brochure (PDF)

Defining a New Standard
Part of the Twentieth Annual Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference
February 13-15, 2013 | Moscone North Convention Center | San Francisco, CA

Digital pathology is the management and interpretation of pathology information in a digital environment that enables a collaborative approach to patient care. The field is gaining acceptance in the medical community by enabling global access and management of information. The ability to reduce time and expense to process pathology images while improving patient care will ensure the rapid adoption of digital pathology to mainstream use.  Cloud computing will be leveraged for digital pathology, and questions around data storage, interpretation, and processing will be covered.  

Who should attend: VPs, Directors, Managers, CEOs, CSOs, Professors and Scientists from Pathology Laboratories, Medical Imaging, Diagnostic Laboratories, Medical Devices, Biomedical Informatics and Academia working in fields such as Pathology, Tissue Analysis, Radiology, Diagnostics, Sequencing, and Healthcare

Topics will include, but are not limited to: 

• Image capture and analysis
• Basics of multispectral imaging
• Clinical applications
• Cloud network for digital pathology
• Medical-legal issues with telemedicine
• Standards for digital pathology
• Validating systems for clinical use
• Workflow modifications
• Regulation of digital pathology
• Improvements in cost-effectiveness
• Computer diagnosis using image analysis tools
• In vivo optical biopsies

If you would like to submit a proposal to give a presentation at this meeting, please click here 

The deadline for submission is July 20, 2012. 

All proposals are subject to review by the Scientific Advisory Committee to ensure the highest quality of the conference program.  Please note that due to limited speaking slots, preference is given to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, regulators and those from academia. Additionally, vendors/consultants who provide products and services to these biopharmaceutical companies are offered opportunities for podium presentation slots based on a variety of Corporate Sponsorships. 

For more details on the conference, please contact: 

Christina Lingham
Executive Director, Conferences
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
T: 781-972-5464
E: clingham@healthtech.com 

For partnering and sponsorship information, please contact: 

Jon Stroup
Manager, Business Development
Cambridge Healthtech Institute
T: (+1) 781-972-5483
E: jstroup@healthtech.com 

Request a copy of Program brochure (PDF)

From Dark Daily:

In Maryland, a 15-year-old high school freshman developed a diagnostic assay that experts say can be developed into medical laboratory test for the detection of pancreatic cancer. The teen’s prize-winning breakthrough test could change how cancer and other fatal diseases are diagnosed and treated.

 More to the point for anatomic pathologists, this new approach to detecting pancreatic cancer is non-invasive, so it does not require a biopsy specimen. It is also inexpensive and fast. At a cost of about $3 per test, the diagnostic assay produces a result in five minutes.

Read more: High School Student Develops Diagnostic Test to Detect Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer | Dark Daily 

The Digital Pathology Association (DPA), a non-profit organization that promotes education and awareness of digital pathology applications, recently welcomed Bill Spooner to the DPA Board of Directors.

Bill Spooner

I came to the DPA through networking, so the networking opportunities are one of the biggest [DPA member] benefits I think.

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) June 27, 2012

The Digital Pathology Association (DPA), a non-profit organization that promotes education and awareness of digital pathology applications, recently welcomed Bill Spooner to the DPA Board of Directors.

Spooner has been the CIO at Sharp HealthCare for the past 15 years. During Spooner’s time at Sharp HealthCare, they became an early leader in electronic health records and received several awards for their consumer website. In 2011, Spooner was named by Information Week as one of the 25 leaders driving the healthcare I.T. revolution.

“The addition of Mr. Spooner to the DPA Board of Directors adds one more dimension to the industry inclusion of the board of directors,” said Michael F. Ward, CAE, Executive Director of the DPA. “The various interfaces that a hospital I.T. department needs are important as healthcare providers continue to provide enhanced whole-slide imaging.”

Also a recipient of the 2009 John E. Gall Jr. CIO of the Year award, Spooner dedicates a lot of his time to involvement in healthcare organizations. Some of the organizations he is a member of include the Healthcare Information Systems Executive Association (HISEA), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and a Fellow in the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). Spooner was eager to get involved with the DPA because of its education and networking opportunities.

“I came to the DPA through networking, so the networking opportunities are one of the biggest [member] benefits I think,” said Spooner. “Many of the DPA members have a lot of experience and great ideas. They can share this knowledge with other members so that the best practices move along in the digital pathology industry.”

Spooner will join an already distinguished roster of individuals on the DPA’s Board of Directors that includes many experts in the digital pathology industry. He also serves on the Healthcare IT News Editorial Board and the California Hospital Association Informatics and Technology Committee. Spooner’s experience and leadership in the healthcare arena proves his perspective will be invaluable to the DPA.

About the Digital Pathology Association
The Digital Pathology Association, located in Indianapolis, IN, was founded in 2009. Its mission is to facilitate education and awareness of digital pathology applications in healthcare and life sciences. Members will be encouraged to share best practices and promote the use of technology among colleagues in order to demonstrate efficiencies, awareness, and its ultimate benefits to patient care. To learn more about the DPA and its members and membership opportunities visit: http://digitalpathologyassociation.org/membership.

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The novel Definiens Image Miner™ 2 is now available to accelerate image-based research and development throughout the life sciences. It dramatically facilitates data exploration and quality control and efficiently supports biomarker validation and correlation of image analysis results with data from external sources. Attend the introductory webinar next Wednesday (July 11, 8am PDT) to learn more!
 

New Product: Definiens Image Miner 2 Now Available

Definiens Image Miner™ 2 makes the wealth of information in biomedical images accessible, accelerating life sciences research and allowing for successful biomarker development. It provides researchers with the unique ability to easily switch between investigating trends and patterns in large data sets and drawing attention to subtle analysis details in single images. Using the statistic toolbox and the comprehensive visualization options, insights and new knowledge can be generated from images in an unprecedented way. Examples from biomarker development and high content screening illustrate the benefits of a tight integration between image analysis and data mining.

Biomarker Development: Webinar Series 

Our next  webinar series will forcus on image and data analysis for biomarker development. It will start this Wednesday (July 11, 8am PDT) with an introduction of the novel Definiens Image Miner™ 2. Register today!

Integrating Data Mining with Image Analysis: Definiens Image Miner™ 2
(Arno Schäpe, July 11, 8am PDT / 11am EDT / 5pm CEST)

Sucessful 3rd International Definiens Symposium   

Definiens thanks all participants of the 3rd International Definiens Symposium for inspiring presentations, fruitful discussions and a stimulating atmosphere. We enjoyed meeting you and exchanging ideas during plenary sessions, workshops, coffee breaks and the evening events. Watch the recordings of plenary lectures on our new Definiens TV channel and browse through the photo gallery for impressions of the event.

The Department of Pathology at University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is currently seeking an M.D. at the Assistant/Associate/Professor level who can lead and develop a strong pathology informatics program. This person will provide direction for the Department’s laboratory information system, digital imaging program, active learning curriculum for residents and graduate students, consultative services and Outreach Program. The position requires close interaction with the University and Hospital Informatics. Current medical license, board certification in AP/CP, AP or CP as well as successful completion of a fellowship or post-doctoral training in clinical/pathology informatics is required. Special consideration will be given to those with demonstrated experience in teaching and the development of an informatics curriculum. Academic title and rank will be commensurate to experience. Direct inquiries and submit curriculum vitae to: Search Committee – Informatics, Department of Pathology (M/C 847), University of Illinois Medical Center, 840 S. Wood St., Chicago, Illinois 60612. UIC is an AA/EOE, Barbie@uic.edu.

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) — By simply shining a tiny light within the small intestine, close to that organ's junction with the pancreas, physicians at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have been able to detect pancreatic cancer 100 percent of the time in a small study. The light, attached to a probe, measures changes in cells and blood vessels in the small intestine produced by a growing cancer in the adjoining pancreas.

This minimally invasive technique, called Polarization Gating Spectroscopy, will now be tested in a much larger international clinical trial led by the Mayo Clinic researchers. The preliminary study suggests it may be possible, one day, to use a less invasive endoscope to screen patients for early development of pancreatic cancer.

The findings were highlighted in a special address by Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Michael Wallace, M.D., at the international Digestive Disease Week 2012.

The pancreas is notoriously hard to reach and see due to its very deep location in the abdomen, surrounded by intestines. The study investigators theorized that there may be changes in the nearby "normal appearing" tissue of the small intestine which is much more accessible.

"No one ever thought you could detect pancreatic cancer in an area that is somewhat remote from the pancreas, but this study suggests it may be possible," says Dr. Wallace, the chairman of the Division of Gastroenterology at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Although results are still preliminary, the concept of detection field effects of nearby cancers holds great promise for possible early detection of pancreatic cancer."

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly of human tumors. It is only curable in 5 percent of cases, and even when it is surgically removed, 70 percent of patients have a recurrence that is fatal, Dr. Wallace says. There are no ways currently to detect the cancer early enough to cure a substantial number of patients, he says.

Pancreatic cancer is now usually detected through an imaging scan, followed by an invasive biopsy. Tumors found in this way are usually at an advanced stage.

In this study, the Mayo Clinic physicians tested a light probe developed by their long-time collaborators at Northwestern University.

The light, attached to a small fiber-optic probe known as an endoscope, measures the amount of oxygenated blood as well as the size of blood vessels in tissue near the duct where the pancreas joins the small intestine. Because a growing tumor requires a heightened supply of blood, normal tissue in the vicinity of the cancer reveals evidence of enlarged blood vessels and changes in the amount of oxygen within the blood.

Such "field effects" from cancer can be measured in other areas of the GI tract, says Dr. Wallace. "With this technology, others studies have shown that cancerous polyps can be detected more than 11 inches from the polyp itself. Early studies are evaluating if esophageal cancers can also be detected remotely," he says.

The probe acts "a bit like a metal detector that beeps faster and louder as you get close to cancer," he says. The researchers are measuring within six to 10 inches of the pancreas in the small intestine immediately next to the pancreas.

Dr. Wallace and his team tested the probe on 10 patients who were later determined to have pancreatic cancer, and on nine participants who did not have pancreatic cancer.

They found that testing both measures -- blood vessel diameter and blood oxygenation -- detected all 10 pancreatic cancers. But the probe was less precise (63 percent accurate) in determining which of the healthy volunteers did not have pancreatic cancer.

"There is room for improvement in this instrument, and our group is working on that," he says. "If the studies confirm the early results, it would make the pancreas accessible to a much simpler upper endoscope and that would be a real advance in the treatment of pancreatic cancer."

Patients now often undergo an endoscopic examination of the upper intestine to search for the cause of heartburn or stomach pain, Dr. Wallace says. An endoscopic probe could be easily outfitted to explore for evidence of pancreatic cancer in patients at heightened risk, he says.

Mihir Patel, M.D., a gastroenterologist who worked with Dr. Wallace on the study, says that despite of intense research, we haven't been successful in significantly improving the overall survival associated with pancreatic cancer in the past several decades. That's because we haven't been able to detect the cancer early enough. Developing a technique to screen the patients and detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage would be a potential breakthrough. In our preliminary data, this technology has shown to hold similar potential.

The study's co-authors include Vadim Backman, Ph.D., a professor in the biomedical engineering department at Northwestern University and Hemant Roy, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Northwestern University.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Mayo Clinic.

• Pancreatic Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Brain Tumor

• Diabetes mellitus type 1
• Minimally invasive procedure
• Gallstone
• Stomach cancer

June 28, 2012 — The Supreme Court today declared that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — the most significant healthcare legislation since the creation of Medicare — is also a constitutional act.

The ruling comes as a shock to many observers, who predicted the court would strike down the individual mandate to obtain insurance coverage, if not the entire law, after its 5-member conservative wing voiced misgivings about the controversial provision during oral arguments in March. The court decision also represents an early Christmas present for President Barack Obama, who seeks reelection this fall against a Republican opponent committed to rolling back "Obamacare."

The individual mandate was at the core of a lawsuit filed against the ACA by officials from 26 states, all but 1 of whom were Republican, as well as a business association. Similar to their Republican allies in Congress, the plaintiffs claimed that the mandate violated the Constitution's Commerce clause, which empowers Congress to regulate interstate commerce. They argued that although healthcare is a form of interstate commerce, Congress cannot compel "inactive" individuals to engage in commerce; that is, to buy or sell something. To allow the mandate to stand, they said, would open the door to further encroachments on personal liberty.

A federal district court in Florida and a federal appeals court in Georgia sided with the plaintiffs and invalidated the individual mandate. However, the Supreme Court had other precedents to follow.

The majority of lower federal courts that ruled on similar challenges to the ACA gave the mandate a clean bill of health, agreeing with the Obama administration's argument that contrary to the law's critics, individuals foregoing insurance coverage actively participate in the healthcare marketplace because they will eventually require medical attention. Their decision not to get coverage is bad for everyone else because the cost of their free or subsidized care is passed on to others in the form of higher provider costs and higher premiums, according to the administration. In addition, the decision by healthy Americans to go uninsured leaves the existing risk pool of insured Americans smaller and sicker, driving up premiums even more.

The mandate helps cure all these problems, the administration contended, by forcing "free riders" to finance their healthcare now as opposed to later, if at all.

During the oral arguments in March, several conservative Supreme Court justices did not appear to buy into the administration's point of view.

"Here the government is saying that the federal government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act," said Justice Anthony Kennedy, "and that is different from what we have in previous cases, and that changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in a very fundamental way."

By finally affirming the individual mandate in its written opinion, the Supreme Court today held to a broad interpretation of the Constitution's Commerce clause that has held sway during the last 70 years. That position is remarkable because, in a number of rulings since 1995, the court has narrowed its interpretation of what Congress can and cannot do in the name of regulating interstate commerce. In the ACA decision, the court is honoring past precedents, as opposed to further rocking the boat.

The court's ruling on the ACA addressed more than the mandate. The justices also upheld the constitutionality of the law's dramatic expansion of the Medicaid program, which the plaintiffs had portrayed as a usurpation of states' rights. The court also declared that a penalty levied on individuals who fail to obtain health insurance coverage beginning in 2014 does not bar consideration of the case beforehand. At issue was a law called the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA), which prohibits anyone from challenging a tax in court until it has been paid. A federal district judge in Richmond, Virginia, last year ruled that the ACA penalty amounted to a tax, and thus triggered the AIA.

This post is courtesy of The Pathology Blawg, a blog that deals mostly with medicolegal issues in the practice of pathology and medicine.

As all physicians know (or should know, anyway), there is a significant push at the federal level to move from paper record-keeping to electronic record keeping in health care.  While some forward-thinking physicians and hospitals have pursued EMRs before the federal push, widespread adoption of EMRs has faced significant skepticism for multiple reasons, including cost (even though federal subsidies will be available), complexity, fear of change, neo-Luddism, medical liability, poorly designed EMR packages in the private domain and others.

A recent study has just been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine that looked at both closed claims from a single large malpractice carrier in Massachusetts from 1995-2007 with data from a survey of random physicians both before and after EMR adoption.

The authors found that the rate of malpractice claims after EMR adoption was 1/6th the rate seen before EMR adoption, with an estimated relative risk of 0.16 (95% CI 0.04-0.71).

That is a significant reduction.  While this study was limited by its size and the fact that it only included data from one insurance carrier, the study is interesting nonetheless.  Because it looked at closed claims and not just claims with payment, the authors suggest this study indicates that fewer medical mistakes were made.  Some skeptics of EMRs worry that the technology will lead to more errors, not less.

I'm not sure I can make the direct leap that fewer malpractice claims equals lower errors, as the reasons why people file malpractice claims are often independent of whether an error occurred or not.  For example, as I posted about a few days ago, the mere presence of tort reform legislation, as Massachusetts has, that caps non-economic damages, can have a chilling effect on the filing of malpractice claims.

It should be noted that while Massachusetts does have tort reform on the books that limit non-economic damages to $500,000, Massachusetts provides an exception that is often exercised, thereby essentially negating the effect of the cap in the first place.

Clearly more research on this topic will need to be done over a broader geography, but in my opinion, this study can at least be viewed as encouraging in the fact that no increase in malpractice claims following EMR adoption was seen in the group studied.  

via Reuters:

(Reuters Health) - Doctors using electronic health records are less likely to get sued than their colleagues who use traditional paper records, a new Massachusetts study showed.

The technology is being adopted by U.S. medical practices to decrease errors and streamline patient care and is an element on which President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul has focused.

Some researchers have expressed concern that when using new, unfamiliar systems doctors could make more mistakes, such as writing notes and prescribing drugs in the wrong patient's record.

"While there's a general belief that they're helpful ... there's also been concern that these same systems can predispose to unrecognized types of (errors) and unsafe events," said Dr. Steven Simon of the VA Boston Healthcare System.

Simon and his colleagues found that using electronic health records (EHR) was tied to an 84 percent lower chance of getting sued. Their study was published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. bit.ly/QceVBj

"If nothing else, these results should be reassuring to physicians and to practices that there's a very, very little chance that EHRs and EHR adoption would increase their chance of malpractice claims," Simon told Reuters Health.

One researcher not involved in the study cautioned that doctors may have to wait to see the longer-term effects of electronic records on malpractice lawsuits, including whether the technology allows more medical decisions to be scrutinized in court.

Simon estimated that about one-third of U.S. practices are currently using electronic health records, which allow different doctors treating a single patient to access each other's notes and see what medications have been prescribed.

More advanced systems warn doctors if they are about to prescribe a drug that may interact with other medications a patient is taking.

IMPROVING QUALITY OF CARE

For the study, Simon and his colleagues surveyed 275 Massachusetts doctors in 2005 and 2007 about if and when they had adopted electronic health records and compared that to medical malpractice claims against those doctors starting in 1995.

Thirty-three of the participating doctors had been sued. The researchers calculated 49 claims before electronic records were adopted, including 13 resulting in a payment, and two claims after, neither leading to a payment.

"Electronic health records in general tend to improve the quality of care by decreasing the number of mistakes, and to the extent to which mistakes drive malpractice claims, you should be seeing less claims," said Dr. Sandeep Mangalmurti, who has studied health technology and malpractice at the University of Chicago.

Still, he said, there might be a period while the electronic records are being introduced that more mistakes could happen.

"There's no question there are kinds of errors that get introduced, and they're solvable," said Dr. Brian Strom, who has also studied electronic health records at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

"We need an iterative process that develops the product, identifies the errors, fixes the errors and keeps testing," said Strom, who was not part of the research team.

Mangalmurti said in the long run, lawyers may use data from electronic health records in court, which could also make doctors more vulnerable to malpractice lawsuits.

"Suddenly there's a lot more information available for scrutiny," Mangalmurti, who was not involved in the new study, told Reuters Health. "Everything a physician does is now theoretically accessible by everyone." (Editing by Christine Soares)

Source: Electronic records tied to fewer malpractice claims

Lifepoint Informatics provides Lenco with secure and hassle-free EMR integration to more than 50 healthcare providers in the tri-state area. 

Glen Rock, NJ – June 27, 2012 - Lenco Diagnostic Laboratories, Inc. is a full-service clinical reference laboratory located in Brooklyn, NY. Handling close to 2,000 orders per day, Lenco takes great pride in continuously meeting the needs of its physician clients and their patients. Lenco’s team of highly dedicated specialists are committed to providing high quality services along with competitive pricing, best in the industry turnaround times and a first-time right service attitude. Lenco’s laboratory services include basic and specialty diagnostic testing; from blood counts to genetic testing for rare diseases. 

Lenco has developed a state-of-the art IT department that enables their clients to access patient results from anywhere there is a secure connection to the Internet. For the past seven years Lenco has used Lifepoint Informatics Web Provider Portal to give their providers access to concise, up-to-the-minute patient information across multiple care settings anytime and from anywhere there is Internet connectivity. As more and more of Lenco’s physicians and other healthcare providers began to implement electronic medical records (EMR), Lenco needed to be able to seamlessly connect with the disparate EMR systems that providers were opting to use. 

Lenco recognized that they had to take a proactive approach to quickly enabling these EMR interfaces to solidify their provider relationships, lock in repeat business, attract new providers and to continue their high service standards. They turned to Lifepoint Informatics to secure their lab’s foothold in provider-side EMR systems and implemented Lifepoint’s EMRHub solution. EMRHub requires one connection from Lenco’s LIS to distribute lab data to an unlimited number of EMRs and support physician direct order entry. Utilizing EMRHub as their virtual integration platform, Lenco is more responsive to EMR interface requests to continue to support and attract providers. Lifepoint was able to provide rapid implementation for the EMR connections to meet Lenco’s client demand and within 3 months had successfully completed 50+ EMR interfaces. 

Implementing successful EMR/EHR integration and interfaces is not a simple process considering the number of systems in the market and the unique way vendors address HL7 standards. According to Feliks Pinkhusovich, Lenco CIO, “Lifepoint’s EMRHub eliminated building and maintaining custom point-to-point interfaces that we were previously relying on. Our IT staff can now more focus on building our outreach business as we know Lifepoint has our connectivity and integration needs covered. We benefit from Lifepoint’s vendor neutral approach that allows us to process clinical messages and lab orders with our existing LIS and provider EMRs. The Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery and rapid implementation have delivered substantial cost savings.” 

Dennis Yurovsky, VP of Operations at Lenco agrees and adds, “Partnering with Lifepoint has helped us to establish a strong presence with providers and drastically reduce the cost of lab to EMR interfacing. Providing Lifepoint’s Cloud based single interface, virtual integration platform has strengthened our client connection and enabled us to focus on outreach success.” 

“We can now approach providers and offer a quick and efficient way to get them up and running with Lifepoint handling our EMR integration which adds to our outreach success,” comments Tom Asher, VP of Sales at Lenco. 

Lifepoint has partnered with many leading EMR and EHR vendors to provide medical labs and pathology groups of all sizes with standardized interfacing for quick and affordable connections with any EMR or EHR. EMRHub is a cost effective and reliable solution to today’s EMR integration challenge. To learn more about EMRHub, contact a Lifepoint Solution Specialist at 1-877-LAB-Test (1-877-522-8378) or visit http://www.lifepoint.com. 

About Lifepoint Informatics 

Lifepoint Informatics is a leader in health IT focusing on laboratory outreach connectivity, health information exchange and clinical data interoperability to help healthcare providers improve patient care and lower costs through the use of information technology. Since 1999, Lifepoint Informatics has enabled over 200 hospitals, clinical labs and anatomic pathology groups to grow their market share and extended their outreach programs through the deployment of its ONC-ATCB certified Web Provider Portal and its comprehensive portfolio of ready-to-go EMR and EHR interfaces. For more Information please visit http://www.lifepoint.com. 

Source: Lifepoint Informatics 

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jun 26, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- AccelPath, Inc. ACLP -31.97% ("AccelPath" or the "Company") announced today that the Company is working with three pathology laboratories in Texas.

The three pathology laboratories are located near Houston, Texas. Interpretations for these laboratories are provided by the Company's interpretation partner, which has the exclusive rights to interpret all tissue pathology slides processed in these laboratories. In addition, the Company provides consulting services to the laboratories as they transition from non-digital, physical transportation of slides (to the interpretation partner) to eventually complete transmission of both slide and patient information digitally to remote reading site. These laboratories recognize the cost, logistical and other advantages of moving to digital transmission of pathology information and recognize that AccelPath provides the only available practical solution for digital telepathology. These laboratories provide AccelPath with an estimated initial total revenue base of approximately $250,000 per year.

The Company has begun to install and use modules of its proprietary workflow software AccelSlide(TM) in these laboratories. Eventually, these laboratories will utilize AccelSlide(TM)fully to digitize the transport of patient records and digital slide images to reading centers anywhere in the United States and internationally. This workflow software continues to develop, improve and expand while being used by these laboratories. Also, they use AccelSlide(TM), the laboratories provide valuable user feedback to the Company to further improve the workflow software.

"We believe that there are significant benefits to transitioning to digital pathology for our laboratory practice," stated Dr. RM. "After our extensive research into digital telepathology solutions and service providers, we were convinced that AccelPath was the company that had the only viable digital solution. They currently provide us with remote pathology services through a very reputable institutional partner, while we utilize their workflow software solution to transition our practice to become fully digital. Our experience with the Company has been exemplary and we look forward to continuing our relationship."

"We are very pleased with our commercial and collaborative relationship with these three pathology laboratories," stated Shekhar Wadekar, AccelPath's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "It is important to have customers who provide exclusive rights to their pathology, while assisting us improve AccelSlide(TM)with "real-time" feedback on our workflow software in addition to generating current revenues for the Company. We plan on expanding our product offerings in this region while we also continue to discuss other regional relationships both in the US and abroad."

via MarketWatch

Vista, CA – June 26, 2012 - Aperio, the leading provider of ePathology solutions, today announced the global availability of Indica Labs tissue and application-specific image analysis tools.

Indica Labs algorithms operate seamlessly with the Aperio PRECISION solution, enabling the user to access the Aperio viewer and analysis-tuning window in the same manner as Aperio image analysis tools. The analytics generated can then be stored, and viewed on the Aperio eSlide Manager and shared anywhere across the Aperio NETWORK. “We are committed to fostering relationships that deliver industry-leading solutions which accelerate innovation and advance collaboration for our customers,” stated David Schlotterbeck, CEO of Aperio.

Indica Labs has a growing list of tools that can be customized according to user requirements. These tools today include: Double Stain IHC, CISH and RNA-ISH quantification, amyloid plaque measurement, muscle fiber analysis, steatosis and adipose quantification, pancreatic islet analysis, microglial activation, axon quantification, and object-based and cell-based Immunofluorescence.

The Aperio PRECISION solution includes a unique patent-protected open architecture that allows software partners to access the largest and fastest growing installed base of ePathology customers. Enabled by the Aperio software development kit, image analysis developers, like Indica Labs, can plug their applications into the powerful Aperio algorithm framework that was designed specifically to address the unique challenge associated with analysis of large eSlide images at any zoom level. 

“This partnership will help bring our extensive image analysis portfolio to the large Aperio user base in a way that hasn’t been done before,” said Steven Hashagen, CEO of Indica Labs. “Users can apply Indica Labs image analysis tools to whole slide images, store analysis data in the Aperio eSlide Manager, and review results without ever leaving the Aperio software environment.  It’s a truly seamless integration that increases usability and eliminates IT hurdles.”

About Aperio

For over a decade, Aperio has advanced the technology that enables glass slides to become eSlides that can be securely shared with others. Aperio products are transforming the practice of pathology in hospitals, reference labs, pharmaceutical and research institutions around the world. Aperio ePathology Solutions equip pathologists with the power to evaluate, engage and excel like never before. The NETWORK enables remote, simultaneous, real-time viewing and easy distribution for consults and collaboration. The PRECISION solution supports tools that empower pathologists with advanced analytic capabilities. An interoperable, scalable and secure web-based software platform facilitates integration with existing systems. With Aperio ePathology Solutions, organizations can optimize their pathology operations for transparency, consistency and efficiency to support patient care, personalized medicine and research. For clearance updates, specific product indications, and more information please visit: http://www.aperio.com/lifescience.

About Indica Labs

Indica Labs is the first company to offer tissue specific and application specific image analysis algorithms in a truly integrated digital pathology environment. Pharmaceutical, healthcare, and research organizations worldwide utilize Indica tools for high-throughput, whole-slide image quantification in areas such as neuroscience, metabolism, oncology, toxicological pathology, and more. For more information, please visit: http://indicalab.com.

Source: Aperio and Indica Labs

ASCP Pathology Informatics offers a dynamic solution for self-directed learning. As a multi-purpose tool, this program offers pathologists and laboratory professionals benefits from enabling self-assessment to fulfilling the American Board of Pathology’s (ABP) requirements for Maintenance of Certification as well as CME and CMLE.

What's included:

Informatics Online Pathology Case Reports (4 Cases, 1.0 hour each)
 

Synoptic Reporting

Generate consistent, complete, and standardized pathology reports. An accurate diagnosis with all pertinent information facilitates superior patient management, including reliable tumor staging, treatment recommendations, and survival predictions. (CSPI1201) To order this case only, click here.

Glucose Testing and the Electronic Medical Record

Learn the variables that can affect POC and central laboratory blood glucose testing to safely integrate and distinguish these results, when they are appropriately separated in an electronic medical record.(CSPI1202) To order this case only, click here.

Telecytology

Interpret cytologic material at a distance using digital images. Applications include primary diagnosis, ROSE, consultation, outreach, research, education, proficiency testing, and quality assurance.(CSPI1203) To order this case only, click here.

Computerized Provider Order Entry in the Electronic Medical Record

Master software that allows you to place an order for a laboratory or radiologic test, medication, procedure, or consultation directly into the electronic medical record. (CSPI1204) To order this case only, click here.

Access Online Pathology Case Reports in the lab or on the go.
The case reports included in the Informatics Bundle may count towards up to 4.0 credit hours in SAM (MOC Part 2) or CME/CMLE.

Key advantages of Pathology Informatics

Convenient to use at home, in the lab, or on your smart phone or e-reader/ipad

• Online exam with certificates available for immediate download
• CME and CMLE credits available
• Fulfills requirements for MOC Part II Self-Assessment Modules (SAMS) as well as CMP requirements for laboratory professionals

Registration is now open for the Digital Pathology Association’s (DPA) annual conference, Pathology Visions. The DPA, a non-profit organization that promotes education and awareness of digital pathology applications, will be hosting Pathology Visions at the Baltimore Hilton in Baltimore, Maryland October 28-31, 2012.

From now until September 1, 2012, attendees who register for Pathology Visions will receive the Early Bird Registration Rate, which is equivalent to $100 off an all-inclusive registration. DPA Members also receive a $200 discount on registration.

The Pathology Visions Conference gives attendees the opportunity to learn about real-world, practical applications in the ever-evolving field of digital pathology through a variety of workshops, educational sessions, abstract presentations and much more. Someone who knows the value and benefit of Pathology Visions firsthand is the Keynote Presenter for Pathology Visions 2012, Dr. John Tomaszewski.

“Pathology Visions is about mapping out the future of digital pathology imaging. As such, this meeting is an ideal platform for discussing and refining the details of the inevitable transition to computational analytics in digital pathology,” Dr. Tomaszewski stated. His keynote presentation will focus on “Data Fusion and 21st Century Diagnostics” centering on his award winning research in the field of genitourinary pathology.

The DPA incorporates the latest findings in digital pathology into Pathology Visions is through the oral and poster abstract submissions. These abstract submissions provide individuals the opportunity to share their research either through a presentation or poster. The DPA is no longer accepting oral abstract submissions, but the deadline for the poster presentation abstract submissions is August 31, 2012.

For more information on registration fees, the keynote speaker, or abstract submissions, please visit our website.

About the Digital Pathology Association 
The Digital Pathology Association, located in Indianapolis, IN, was founded in 2009. Its mission is to facilitate education and awareness of digital pathology applications in healthcare and life sciences. Members will be encouraged to share best practices and promote the use of technology among colleagues in order to demonstrate efficiencies, awareness, and its ultimate benefits to patient care. To learn more about the DPA and Pathology Visions:http://digitalpathologyassociation.org/pathology-visions-2012.

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