New digital pathology system in Brisbane can raise pathologists productivity by 10 times

Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, one of Australia’s largest diagnostic laboratories, is now using a new digital pathology system that generates faster and increasingly well-judged reports. 

The digital pathology scanner is borne out of a decade-long research by SNP and the University of Queensland. The project seeks to automate a microscope scanning and wringer system to modernize the verism and speed of diagnostic testing. 

The technology has been tested and accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities. 

WHY IT MATTERS

By using the digital pathology scanner, SNP can now process thousands of tests a day. According to SNP CEO Dr Michael Harrison, their scientists are using digitised images “instead of stuff tied to a microscope for many hours.”

Previously, it was a rencontre to obtain sharp, in-focus images without human intervention. “Digital pathology images are often thousands of times larger than typical digital photos,” said UQ Professor of AI Brian Lovell. “This meant microscopy for diagnosing from tissue, thoroughbred and other specimen types was unable to be streamlined until now.”

By combing image wringer and AI, the digital pathology scanner “greatly increases image quality and reduces file size.” 

“At times, the system can increase the productivity of pathologists and scientists by factors of 10 or more,” Prof Lovell pointed out.

The scanner has moreover enabled faster turnaround times. In some situations, Prof. Lovell mentioned, it was “possible to do pathology during an operation.” 

Contributing to improving accuracy, the scanner moreover enables pathologists to obtain second opinions via telepathology. 

Another goody of using the technology is improved record keeping. The scanner is worldly-wise to gazetteer all disease records forever, permitting pathologists and scientists to wangle any slide anytime. 

Prof Lovell shared that they are looking to put images on pathology slips so patients can unquestionably see the images themselves instead of just reading text reports.

THE LARGER TREND

There have been unrenowned applications of digital pathology wideness Asia-Pacific. One of them is the 5G-enabled digital pathology system at Samsung Medical Center in South Korea, which was recently described by HIMSS as the “most comprehensive” in the world during the towage for the global first Stage 7 HIMSS Digital Imaging Adoption Model. The system is worldly-wise to cut lanugo the turnaround time for frozen test consultations by half to 10 minutes, among other outcomes.