The Daily Scan

Infographic: iPads vs Tablet PCs in healthcare

I thought you might be interested in this cool infographic, comparing iPads vs Tablet PCs in healthcare.

I must tell you I am *still* searching for tangible use cases for the iPad viewing digital pathology images; everyone seems to want it to be able to do so, but nobody can explain exactly why.  (It seems that for any use case where an iPad would be useful, a laptop would be better.)

Anyway the growth of iPad usage is undeniable for other applications including many in healthcare, and it is probably only a matter of time before they're everywhere!

[ via ScienceRoll ]

DICOM supplement 145 approved! - whole-slide microscopic images

Big news today as DICOM supplement 145 has been approved, support for whole-slide microscopic images.  This means the [very] large images used in digital pathology can now be stored in a DICOM-compatible fashion, and promises future interchange between digital pathology systems and tools and other systems such as PACS systems used for Radiology and other medical imaging modalities.

The key approach in storing the [very] large multi-resolution multi-planar whole-slide images (illustrated at right, top) was to map subregions from each layer into a DICOM series (illustrated at right, bottom).  This approach required relatively minor conceptual changes in the DICOM standard and will make implementation by vendors with existing DICOM-compatible products easier, helping to foster adoption of the standard.

Creation of this supplement by NEMA Working Group 26 was a cross-vendor effort including digital pathology companies like Aperio, medical imaging companies, and support from the College of American Pathologists.  The completed supplement may be downloaded from the NEMA website.

This addition to the DICOM standard complements a previous effort by Working Group 26 which resulted in supplement 122, a specimen model for Pathology.  Together the supplement include:

• One major new DICOM Information Object Definition (Whole Slide Imaging) with new concepts to manage the huge WSI data set
• A major revision of a DICOM Information Entity (Specimen) with a rigorous information model
• 56 new data elements added to the DICOM Standard in 14 new or revised modules
• 7 new or revised DICOM structured data templates and 18 new defined value sets
• 80 new coded terminology concepts added to SNOMED, and 36 added to DICOM
• 40 pages of explanatory information about pathology workflow and imaging

With this approval, it is natural to ask, "what will change?"  The immediate effect will be a clear signal that digital pathology vendors are committed to interoperability and open standards, which will help foster adoption of the technology.  Further out, digital pathology companies and other medical imaging vendors such as those who make PACS systems will enhance their products to support the new standard, enabling interoperability between systems for digital pathology images.

We at Aperio have been involved in Working Group 26 since the beginning of these efforts and enthusiastically support creation of standards for interoperability, as part of our "open systems" approach.  This is a big step and we thank everyone involved who helped make it happen.  We would especially like to recognize Dr. Bruce Beckwith, chairman of working group, and the College of American Pathologists whose vision supports these efforts.

Roche/Ventana acquires BioImagene

Wow, big news in Digital Pathology today, as the Ventana division of Roche has announced that it is acquiring BioImagene:

Roche announced today that it has signed an agreement under which Ventana Medical Systems Inc., a member of the Roche Group, will acquire 100 percent of BioImagene, Inc., a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, California. The purchase price is approximately 100 million US dollars on a debt-free basis. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the coming weeks.

BioImagene is an innovative leader in the field of digital pathology workflow and analysis. Digital pathology is a suite of dynamic, image-based technologies that enable image capture, information management, image analysis and virtual sharing of patients’ tissue samples on glass slides.

Our initial reaction to this acquisition:

• Further DP Validation: The acquisition of BioImagene by Roche/Ventana (a multi‐billion dollar entity) is good for the digital pathology industry as it further validates the need and value for digital pathology.
• Dedicated to DP: Aperio is the only pure‐play digital pathology company (i.e., with a complete solution) in the space and remains dedicated to digital pathology exclusively.
• Grow Clinical Adoption: The partnering of BioImagene and Ventana will help accelerate clinical adoption.

Stay tuned for more as we understand the implications of this further... especially what it might mean for current BioImagene customers and the future of their products.

Pathology Informatics 2010

Bruce Friedman reports on Pathology Informatics 2010, a new conference merged from APIII and Bruce's own Lab Info Tech:

Pathology Informatics 2010 will take place on September 19-22, 2010, at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston. This conference has been formed from a merger of APIII, held primarily in Pittsburgh for the past 14 years, and Lab InfoTech Summit/AIMCL that were presented in Las Vegas/Ann Arbor for the past 27 years.

AIMCL has always included scientific sessions and e-posters in its programming. The former are 15-minute oral presentations selected on the basis of submitted abstracts. E-posters, as the name implies, are lecture-demo's using PCs as a substitute for the standard physical posters presented at many medical conferences.

A new record has been established for scientific abstract and e-poster submissions for this year's conference with 60 of the former and 24 of the latter. In order to accommodate these 60 abstract presentations, the conference organizers have expanded the number of available conference rooms to five. The sessions will run in parallel on Monday and Tuesday mornings, September 20 and 21, from 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Sounds like a great conference - see you in Boston!

NIH establishes new breast cancer research committee

HealthImaging reports NIH establishes new breast cancer research committee:

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has established a new advisory committee to develop and coordinate a strategic federal research agenda on environmental and genetic factors related to breast cancer, the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC).

According to NIEHS, the 19-member committee comprised of representatives of federal agencies, non-federal scientists, physicians and other health professionals, as well as advocates for individuals with breast cancer will be tasked with reviewing all breast cancer research efforts conducted or supported by federal agencies in order to develop recommendations for the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies.

The completed strategic agenda will presumably be used to direct NIH research grants in the area of breast cancer, enabling a more coordinated approach between researchers.

LabCorp Collaborates with Clearstone for Global Clinical Trials

Laboratory Corporation of America announced today a collaboration between Esoterix Clinical Trials Services, a division of LabCorp, and Clearstone Central Laboratories, a global central laboratory specializing in drug development and pharmaceutical services.

The collaboration provides LabCorp with access to Clearstone’s global network of labs, including China, France, Singapore and Canada, in addition to LabCorp's existing labs in the United States and Belgium. The companies will collaborate on providing standardized central laboratory testing for clinical trials to their respective clients. The transaction also provides LabCorp access to Clearstone’s clinical trials management system APOLLO CLPM™, enhancing the ability of clients to conveniently send, receive and manage data.

This is a fascinating development, and shows the worldwide nature of clinical trials.  Digital Pathology technology is a key tool for these trials, enabling coordination, review, and reporting remotely without difficult, costly, and time-consuming shipment of specimens.

Putting the Digital Pieces Together

Amanda Lowe has posted a nice article excerpted from an article she wrote for Advance for Laboratory Professionals: Putting the Digital Pieces Together:

Digital pathology is often described as the scanning of a glass slide into a whole slide image; yet, it is much more. It is so much more, in fact, that pathologists and laboratory professionals find themselves puzzled with how it will affect their future. As technology progresses, we must start to understand how to put the pieces of it together—from acquisition to integration to data management and interpretation.

On one point I would like to comment further; she writes "One goal of digital pathology is to enhance the sign-out process for pathologists."  This is a goal, but we've found that many of the near-term valuable applications for digital pathology in labs do not change the sign-out process for pathologists.  Digital pathology can be used for prospective and retrospective applications such as inter-operative consults and archival for QA and risk management, without changing the current glass-slide-based workflow.

We expect that over time as pathologists and labs become comfortable with digital pathology, it will be used for routine sign-out, but that may not be the way digital pathology is first adopted.

Google’s Window Into The Healthcare IT Market

The Software Advice blog has published an interesting think piece: Google's Window into the Healthcare IT Market:

One of the major goals of the federal government’s push for nationwide electronic medical record (EMR) adoption is to create an information network where “health data can flow freely, privately, and securely to the places where they are needed.” So far, this is proving to be a challenge for the nation’s hospitals and doctors.

Software Advice thinks that this problem presents an opportunity for Google to take a big step into the healthcare IT market in 2010, following other major companies like Microsoft, I.B.M. and insurance giant Aetna. Through their Books project, Google has shown that they can scan, interpret and index a high volume of books in a relatively short amount of time. Unstructured medical records – those not neatly organized within an interoperable EMR system – could be managed in the same fashion. Google possesses many of the requisite skills and technologies to solve this problem.

It is noticable that Google Health appears to be back-burnered; at first it got a lot of attention - just about anything new Google does gets a lot of attention! - but little has happened since, and the impression that it was just a hobby cannot be shaken.  But Google does have a tremendous amount of technology and resources to help with this important problem.  I hope they take Software's Advice :)

chalk tip #39: Aperio FDA clearances

Hi everyone...  it's been a while since my last chalk tip and I'm getting back into the habit :)

I get asked a lot about Aperio's FDA clearances...  people want to understand exactly which applications are FDA cleared, and all the details.  The detailed information on each filing is posted on our website, including links to the corresponding FDA premarket notification database entries.  There are also links to the press releases announcing each clearance.

Here is a list of our current FDA clearances, linked to the details:

• HER2 Image Analysis - K071128
• Manual Read of HER2 Digital Slides - K071671
• ER/PR Image Analysis - K073677
• IHC PR Breast Tissue Manual Read of Digital Slides - K080254
• HER2 Image Analysis for Breast Tissue – K080564

It is important to note that Aperio products are FDA-cleared for specific clinical applications, and are intended for research use for other applications.

Aperio is hiring Product People!

I don't like to post too much Aperio-centric stuff on this blog, but here's something that might be interesting to both of us: Aperio is expanding its product team and we are looking for some key product managers and business analysts.  We presently have the following new positions open:

Product Manager, Life Science
Product Manager, Image Analysis
Business Analyst, Healthcare Solutions
Business Analyst, Life Science

If you or anyone you know is interested in any of these positions, please send an email to jobs@aperio.com.  Thanks!

[Update: I am always amazed to see how fast stuff gets picked up on the Internet.  We just posted these openings on our website, and already they've been echoed far and wide, such as this posting on Startuphire.com.  Aperio isn't a startup anymore but we're happy to have our opportunities widely publicized :) ]