The Daily Scan

Fourth annual Pathology Visions Conference details announced

Aperio will be hosting the annual Pathology Visions conference, which will be held October 26-28 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego, CA.  The conference will serve as a platform for stimulating discussion about the uses of digital pathology in research, clinical, and veterinary pathology applications.  Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about exciting innovations in digital pathology, share best practices, and network with thought leaders and colleagues.

This year's change in venue will provide attendees new opportunities to explore beautiful downtown San Diego.  The conference will feature a special dinner event and tour aboard the historic USS Midway, docked in San Diego's scenic harbor.

The 2007 conference was a great success and attendees remarked about "candid opinions from participants and sponsors about imaging."  On his blog, Keith Kaplan noted that, "The talks and panels were provocative and addressed digital pathology on a broad spectrum of current and likely future issues."

For additional information on Pathology Visions 2008, please email info@pathologyvisions.com or visit www.pathologyvisions.com.

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Generate Insulin-Secreting Cells in Vivo

MedScape: Human Embryonic Stem Cells Generate Insulin-Secreting Cells in Vivo.

"The findings of a new study, according to the researchers, provide "definitive evidence" that human embryonic stem cells can be used to create glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting cells."

That's awesome - the possibilities for treatment of diabetes are incredible.

FDA Clears Avastin for Breast Cancer

Wired: FDA Clears Avastin for Breast Cancer.

"A Genentech drug received federal approval on Friday to treat breast cancer, a surprise decision that could represent a shift in standards for assessing the effectiveness of cancer medicines.

"Going against the recommendation of its advisory panel, the Food and Drug Administration judged the effectiveness of Avastin based on measurements of tumor growth, not patient survival.

"The ruling prompted a mixed reaction from both doctors and advocates for breast-cancer patients.

Interesting.  Gives Genentech something to talk about at USCAP next week, that's for sure :)

New Electron Microscope Identifies Individual Color-coded Atoms

ScienceDaily reports New Electron Microscope Identifies Individual Color-coded Atoms.

A new electron microscope recently installed in Cornell's Duffield Hall is enabling scientists for the first time to form images that uniquely identify individual atoms in a crystal and see how those atoms bond to one another. And in living color.

Wow, that is cool.

Electron Microscopy isn't being used in digital pathology (yet!); cells are bigger than atoms, and sample sizes are pretty different.  But the fundamental knowledge gained from research with electron microscopes can be useful in drug discovery, for example, in analyzing active sites.

Patient safety and error reduction in surgical pathology

Here's an interesting new paper from R. E. Nakhleh regarding Patient safety and error reduction in surgical pathology.  Of particular interest to digital pathology, Dr. Nakhled nicely discriminates between the relative skills of humans (good at handling unantipated situations) and machines (good at reproducibly performing repetitive tasks).  The challenge in error reduction is to allocate tasks between humans and machines in ways which take advantage of each in the best way possible.

Precancerous Stem Cells Can Form Tumor Blood Vessels

From CancerFocus: Precancerous Stem Cells Can Form Tumor Blood Vessels.

"Tumors require a blood supply to grow, but how they acquire their network of blood vessels is poorly understood. A new study here shows that tumor blood vessels can develop from precancerous stem cells, a recently discovered type of cell that can either remain benign or become malignant.

"Researchers say the findings provide new information about how tumors develop blood vessels, and why new drugs designed to block tumor blood-vessel growth are often less effective than expected. The study by scientists at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Pathology is to be published Feb. 20 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Excellent.  Angiogenesis - the formation of new blood vessels to feed tumors - is a big key to treating many cancers.

Pathology Partnerships That Save Lives Worldwide

From the Health News blog: Pathology Partnerships That Save Lives Worldwide.

"The College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation's Humanitarian Grant Program is relatively new, but already it has had a significant impact on delivery of services around the globe. Since 2001, the CAP Foundation has awarded 14 humanitarian grants totaling more than $236 000 to provide pathology services in Eritrea, Tanzania, and other parts of Africa; Vietnam; Haiti; Madagascar; and Nicaragua.

Excellent.  The CAP foundation is doing great work.

"You can contribute to the CAP Foundation today by calling (800) 323-4040 or visiting www.foundation.cap.org.

Canadian Pathologist shortage a national problem: officials

CBC reports: Pathologist shortage a national problem: officials.

"Chronic underfunding has led to a nationwide shortfall of pathologists, with many of them now compelled to work well past retirement age, as well as a failure to consistently double-check their diagnoses, several medical associations say.

This provides a compelling case for digital pathology, which helps pathologists process cases more efficiently.  The article also notes:

"Hospitals should have at least two pathologists to ensure the results of each diagnosis are double-checked, said retired New Brunswick pathologist John MacKay.

'Why do they put two pilots on an airplane? Why do they put two engines on an airplane? In case one breaks down, they have a back up,' Mackay said.

"Hospital officials CBC News spoke to said that a rough guideline suggests 10 per cent of diagnoses should be randomly checked, but that policy is voluntary and most hospitals decide on their own how to check their pathologists' work.

The need for secondary consults is another great driver of digital pathology adoption.  In addition to a shortage of pathologists, secondary consults currently take time and require a lot of manual labor for shipping and handling.  With digital pathology secondary consults can be performed instantly online.

Apparent Magnification - again

One of the questions I get most often concerns "apparent magnification".  People want to understand how the magnification of digital pathology systems compares to optical microscopes, and what is the relationship between "magnification" and "resolution", anyway?

Well, about four years ago I took a stab at explaining apparent magnification, and this is still the top Google hit for this subject.  I thought I'd link it again in case you wanted to know about it.  If so, please check it out.

Breast Cancer Gene-Expression Assays Show Promise but More Data Are Needed

Medscape: Breast Cancer Gene-Expression Assays Show Promise but More Data Are Needed.

"There is evidence that 3 marketed gene-expression–based assays have the potential to improve prognostic accuracy, treatment choice, and disease outcomes in women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. However, a review that appears online February 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that more information is needed about the extent of improvement in prediction, which women will derive the most benefit, and how test results are best incorporated into decision-making about breast cancer treatment."