Digitizing pathology, a watershed moment for the healthcare industry

The authorization by the FDA for digital pathology in the US, the world’s largest healthcare market, constitutes a watershed moment for the healthcare industry. Pathologists work in laboratories, in clinics and on hospital wards. Digital pathology enables them to view and diagnose digital images of surgical pathology slides prepared from biopsied and resectioned tissue. It means we can leverage all the benefits that result when images are digitized, including the reporting and billing of diagnostic results.

Rather than looking directly at a tissue sample mounted on a glass slide under a conventional light microscope, the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution enables pathologists to read and share tissue slides digitally in order to make diagnoses. It could help make critical health information available to patients and healthcare professionals faster and at lower cost.

A giant leap forward

Incidences of chronic disease are rising around the world, placing immediate demand on pathology. For example, new cancer cases will rise 70% from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million per year in the next two decades [2]. Delays in decision making in pathology account for 41% of delays in cancer diagnosis [3].

Before digital pathology, if second opinions were needed, boxes with glass slides had to be shipped to other specialists, which could take a long time. It also carried a high cost and risk because part of the material could get broken or lost leaving patients and clinicians waiting for the diagnosis.

ROI was already beginning to become attractive just from the clinical workflow improvements – you load the system, close the door, and there is no more human interaction after that. This could allow high throughput for volume pathology and networked labs with the same or a better level of quality.

The ultimate aim of digitization is that all sorts of algorithms – such as image analysis to aid the pathologist in making better and faster decisions – will be developed and become clinically available. Ultimately, this will create even more opportunities for digital innovation – using artificial intelligence for computational pathology and other innovative technologies – that could support increased accuracies, predictive health management or ultimately potentially improve patient outcomes.

Digitizing pathology is indeed taking a giant leap forward and the FDA authorization truly constitutes a watershed moment for the healthcare industry. This achievement reinforces Philips’ leadership in digital pathology, a solution that is central to the diagnosis of complex diseases such as cancer. Now healthcare can reap all the benefits that result when images are digitized, giving clinicians the tools they need to be more effective in this new world of healthcare and making critical health information available faster to healthcare providers and patients.

[1] The Royal College of Pathologists
[2] World Health Organization – Cancer Fact Sheet 2017 and World Cancer Report 2014

[3] National Patient Safety Agency - March 2010