The Company’s Digital Pathology Systems to Drive Best Practices in Laboratory Medicine Across Region Skåne, Improving Workflow, Quality Assurance and Enhanced Patient Access to Pathology Services

Vista, CA – August 24, 2011 - Aperio, the global leader in providing digital pathology solutions that improve patient care, today announced that it has contracted with Labmedicin Skåne, of Lund, Sweden, part of Skåne Health Services, to implement 14 digital pathology systems throughout its pathology laboratories located in Helsingborg, Kristianstad, Lund, and Malmö to provide a more robust laboratory service that will expand access to high quality sub-specialized pathology diagnostics to more communities in the Region Skåne. The contract is a collaborative agreement between Aperio, LRI Imaging AB (Aperio’s Swedish distributor), and Software Point, a Finland-based laboratory information systems vendor owned by LabVantage Group. 

Aperio’s digital pathology system will be fully integrated with Software Point’s Sapphire C5 laboratory information system via Aperio’s Spectrum pathology information management software, optimizing workflow and facilitating access to digital slide images and case data between the two systems. Implementation of the integrated solution is anticipated to start in Fall 2011, with plans to be fully operational by Spring 2012. The integrated system will link the four regional hospital pathology labs, estimated to produce 500,000 slides annually, for shared pathology services. 

“We are very excited about the opportunity to access digital slide images and consolidate our pathologists’ workflow into one system,” stated Lena Luts, director of operations for clinical pathology at Labmedicin Skåne. “Digital access to whole-slide image data will completely transform our pathology business, saving our pathologists a vast amount of time. Being able to replace glass slides with digital images will help us significantly improve the diagnostic process and decrease turnaround time for interpretations, resulting in improved quality and patient safety.”

The 14 system installation will include 10 ScanScope® ATs, Aperio’s new addition to its patented line of ScanScope slide scanning instruments. The new ScanScope AT incorporates the very latest technology to deliver the most compact, highest throughput, lowest cost-per-slide, highest-capacity scanner on the market today with superior image quality and highest first scan success rate for high-throughput applications. 

Aperio CEO Dirk G. Soenksen said, “Aperio’s win of this significant contract demonstrates our continued global leadership in providing superior, low cost solutions on the industry’s most robust digital pathology platform. We are honored to provide Labmedicin Skåne with digital pathology solutions that will help define best practices in laboratory medicine and inform better patient care decisions.” 

Scanned images of slides from the four laboratories will be transferred to a central bank. This will improve laboratory workflow and allow pathologists and other employees at the laboratories to follow the specimen from the time the sample arrives at the laboratory until the response is sent to the originator. In addition, pathologists are ensured a permanent and easily accessible digitized slide image for all of their cases, which can be used by surgeons and pathologists from different hospitals to communicate about a case, or for research, audit, or quality assurance purposes. The image bank is expected to be one of the largest in Northern Europe. 

With more system installations than all other digital pathology vendors combined, Aperio is the global leader and reliable choice for world class digital pathology solutions. The company has a global installed base of more than 800 systems in over 30 countries, including more than 500 systems in hospitals and reference laboratories, the 13 largest pharmaceutical companies and a multitude of biotechnology and government organizations. 

Live demonstrations of Aperio’s digital pathology system will be available at Aperio’s exhibit booth (#5a33) at the 23rd European Congress of Pathology, August 27 – September 1, in Helsinki, Finland.