Visiopharm Partners with LRI Imaging and Inter Instrument AS for the Deployment of Digital Pathology across Scandinavia
There is a pressing need to improve and standardize patient care, with a focus on cancer, across Scandinavian countries. Scandinavia, and their respective healthcare systems and pathology departments, face major challenges. Challenges include too few experienced pathologists, a growing volume of diagnostic cases, demands to reduce turnaround times for diagnosis, and to reduce overall costs of pathology. Digital Pathology is a promising way forward to address these challenges.
To support this effort Visiopharm, LRI Imaging, and Inter Instrument AS are joining forces across Scandinavia to provide a best-of-class, fully integrated digital pathology solution for diagnostic workflows. A complete diagnostic solution requires slide scanning, data management, image analysis and a close integration with Laboratory Information Systems (LIS).
Diagnostic use of quantitative digital pathology is a priority for Visiopharm. Over the past twelve years Visiopharm has worked closely with leading cancer researchers and pathologists to develop the platform required to make a real difference in diagnostic use of image analysis. A significant, ongoing investment is being made for continued development and validation of Visiopharm diagnostic algorithms on hundreds of patients.
“LRI has the expertise and experience to provide a standardized solution for clinical use of digital pathology. Image analysis is a key component to such a solution. Visiopharm has a clear advantage with CE-IVD diagnostic image analysis that has been validated on several leading scanners and staining platforms. Visiopharm has also integrated their solution to the leading LIS systems in Scandinavia, and has a strong vision and pipeline for continued development of CE-IVD algorithms and a commitment to LIS integration. LRI assists pathologists with selecting the best digital pathology solution components for their environment, rather than being restricted to a closed system” says Rickard Lindelöf, CEO at LRI Imaging.
Anja Rose Strohmaier, CEO at Inter Instrument stated, “It is critical that image analysis software is both CE-marked and has proven success of making a real difference in solving the challenges pathologists, their laboratories, and their patients have. Inter Instrument customers need software that can automate the identification of tumor cells, find positive and negative profiles of cell nuclei, and quantify the Biomarker expression in tissue sections, and push this data to the LIS system for review and interpretation by pathologists. Visiopharm offers this and more to our customers.”
“Providing useful solutions to pathologists requires a profound understanding of pathologists and how they work. LRI Imaging and Inter Instrument have decades of experience in working with pathologists and a deep understanding of digital pathology. LRI Instrument and Inter Instrument have been incredibly successful in Scandinavia, over 50 slide scanners have been placed within the last five years.” says Michael Grunkin, CEO of Visiopharm.
Visiopharm founded a Denmark user group for digital pathology titled, “Moving Digital Pathology into the Clinic.” LRI Imaging and Inter Instrument will join Visiopharm as co-sponsors to promote the user group throughout Scandinavia. This inter-Scandinavian forum will enable pathologists to share best practices and experiences for the deployment of digital pathology in routine diagnostics. The last meeting was held in Hoersholm, Denmark, with more than 40 participants from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and Italy. The next meeting will be held in December in Lund, Sweden.
About Visiopharm
Over the past 12 years, Visiopharm image analysis and stereology software has become the preferred Quantitative Digital Pathology solution for leading hospitals, biopharmaceutical companies, clinical researchers, and academic researchers all over the world. Visiopharm has more than 350 deployed systems worldwide and a large network of distribution and support partners, and is featured in over 450 scientific publications.
About LRI Imaging
LRI provides innovative microscope imaging solutions for researchers, doctors, clinicians, educators and the industrial sector. LRI microscope systems offer unsurpassed optics, superior construction and system versatility to meet the everchanging needs of the market. The company was founded in 1971 and has since then worked exclusively with the sale and service of microscopes. LRI is composed of competent and dedicated employees, each with nearly 25 years of experience in sales and services of microscope systems.
About Inter Instrument AS
For more than 25 years Inter Instrument AS has been a provider for microscopes and equipment for pathology laboratories in Norway. About 10 years ago, Inter Instrument started to sell scanners for microscope slides, which has resulted in installed systems at several University hospital pathology departments all over the country.
