Digital Pathology
Digital pathology is an image-based information environment that is enabled by computer technology to allow for the management of information generated from a digital slide. It is enabled in part by virtual microscopy, which is the practice of converting glass slides into digital slides that can be viewed, managed, and analyzed on a computer monitor. With the advent of whole-slide imaging, the field of digital pathology has exploded and is currently regarded as one of the most promising avenues of diagnostic medicine to achieve even better, faster and cheaper diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of cancer and other important diseases.
Digital pathology also holds the promise of interconnecting pathologists around the globe in ways that will advance diagnostic accuracy and improve patient outcomes.
In pathology, trained pathologists look at tissue slides under a microscope. The tissue on those slides may be subjected to staining to highlight structures. When those slides are digitized, they then have the potential to be numerically analyzed using computer algorithms. Algorithms can be used to automate the manual counting of structures, or for classifying the condition of tissue such as is used in grading tumors.
This could reduce human error and improve accuracy of diagnoses. Digital slides are also, by nature, easier to share than physical slides. This increases potential for using data for education and consultations between two or more experts.
In April, the US Food and Drug Administration approved for marketing the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution (PIPS), the first whole slide imaging (WSI) system that allows for review and interpretation of digital surgical pathology slides prepared from biopsied tissue. It was the first time the FDA permitted the marketing of a WSI system for these purposes.
Thus the high cost of implementing this technology is slowing adoption of these systems by smaller private pathology groups. It is estimated that around 1,000 pathology labs worldwide own and use digital pathology systems on a regular basis.
Smaller organizations often believe they must engage in full adoption, which means digitizing all cases and every glass slide, then reading all the images on a monitor. Partial adoption is also possible, though, and new technology is expected to allow smaller pathology groups to go digital via a cloud-based pathologist workflow solution.
Digital Pathology Sales Put Gestalt on Inc. 5000’s Fast Growth List
Digital pathology workflow provider Gestalt Diagnostics earned a place on the Inc. 5000 2023 list of the fastest growing p…
Digital Pathology Rollout Was ‘Big Bang’ at University of Louisville
CEO SUMMARY: It took less than one year to achieve full implementation of whole slide imaging and digital pathology at the University of Louisville’s Department of Pathology. One decision was to s…
Digital Pathology Business Plan for Both Clinical and ROI Success
CEO SUMMARY: More pathology groups are ready to consider adopting whole-slide imaging and digital pathology. The decision to proceed should only be made after identifying the clinica…
CMS Ends Remote Reading of Pathology Glass Slides
CEO SUMMARY: On the day the federal government ended the public health emergency for SARS-CoV-2, CMS issued an updated FAQ that ended the allowance for remote reviews of glass slides…
Fujifilm Buys Inspirata’s Digital Pathology Assets
CEO SUMMARY: Fujifilm’s acquisition of the digital pathology technologies and clients of Inspirata marks the departure of one early entrant into the digital pathology market. At the same time, executives from Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation discuss why the company is incr…
New CPT Codes Debut for Digital Pathology Services
CEO SUMMARY: New digital pathology CPT codes took effect Jan. 1. Because the new codes are designated as Category III, they are not subject to Medicare and private payer reimbursement yet. Instead, federal health officials will monitor the use of the new codes in 2023 to determine h…
Eight Macro Trends for Clinical Labs in 2023
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory administrators and pathologists will want to carefully study eight important trends that will guide their business strategies in 2023. Many of these macro trends center on financial and operational difficulties and ways to steer around these obstacles. Anothe…
AI Fuels New Efforts in Computational Pathology
CEO SUMMARY: Computational pathology combines technology and data science to improve laboratory medicine. Mayo Clinic is exploring how this new model can improve productivity and diagnostic accuracy in ways that even labs at smaller hospitals can put into practice. Success will stem…
Shortage of Pathologists a Factor in Adoption of Digital Pathology
WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, it is now recognized that the demand for surgical pathologists exceeds the available supply. There are more vacant positions than qualified applicants to fill them. The question yet to be answered is when this shortage of patho…
First Digital Path AI Tool Cleared for Market by FDA
CEO SUMMARY: In a first for the anatomic pathology profession, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for market a digital pathology image analysis product intended to aid pathologists in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Developed by New York City-based Paige, the Paige…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXX, No. 13 – September 11, 2023
Recent court rulings involving the No Surprises Act are putting the government on the defensive about provisions of the law. Also, the continued consolidation of the IVD and national laboratory company markets has brought more influence to those lab companies. In addition, learn how clinical labs can earn money from their diagnostic data by helping private insurers navigate Medicare Advantage’s risk adjustment model.
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