Digital Pathology
Dutch university hospital pioneer in digital pathology with solution from Sectra
University Hospital Utrecht (UMCU) in the Netherlands has invested in a solution from Sectra for storing, viewing and sharing digital pathology images. The solution enables pathologists to review cases for primary diagnostics digitally. This new opportunity significantly increases workflow efficiency and offers enhanced collaboration between pathologists and radiologists at the hospital enabling more efficient cancer care. UMCU is one of the first university hospitals in the world to fully digitize its pathology department.
“By reviewing tissue and cells digitally, our workflow will become more efficient. We are no longer tied to that one workplace: the microscope. We can request the opinion of expert colleagues much more easily and can review cases faster when a patient is referred. With the use of computer technology, the pathologist has assistance in interpreting images, making the overall quality of diagnosis more reliable,” says Paul van Diest, head of the Pathology Department at University Hospital Utrecht.
Sectra’s digital pathology product is built on the same platform as Sectra’s radiology PACS, the solution for managing radiology images that has been in use in Utrecht for the past ten years. Pathology and radiology are at the center of cancer diagnosis and their collective findings lay the basis for patient treatment and its outcome. Both disciplines are highly dependent on adequate clinical information in order to provide accurate and useful reports for the clinician, surgeon, oncologist or patient. Sectra’s common technical platform enables closer collaboration between the two specialties by allowing them to easily share images, thereby facilitating quicker and more accurate diagnosis, often referred to as integrated diagnostics.
European and Scandinavian pathology departments are in the process of digitizing their work, but nonetheless, only a few hospitals have implemented full-scale digital pathology solutions.
For further information about Sectra’s solution for digital pathology
26.06.2015
