TRIBVN Healthcare and its Partner Hamamatsu are Supporting the Pathology Department at the University Hospital Centre of Montreal in its Digital Transition
TRIBVN Healthcare, Hamamatsu Photonics and the University Hospital Centre of Montreal have joined forces in a partnership for the creation of a centre of excellence in digital pathology
In 2015, the University Hospital Centre of Montreal (CHUM) launched a public consultation for the initiation of the transition of its pathology department to digital technology. The objectives of the CHUM are ambitious, and form part of the innovative policy associated with the consolidation of laboratories within this new hospital development. The preferred solution will not only need to support the transition to on-screen diagnostics in pathology operations, but also to permit the development of new approaches to quantification, for the purposes of image interpretation. According to Martin Demers, Director of Multidisciplinary Services and Dr Bich Nguyen, Head of the Pathology Department: “The CHUM was looking for a partner with the capability to undertake the rapid deployment of a comprehensive and operational solution for clinical care, and to support the CHUM in change management and its research operations. The proposal of TRIBVN Healthcare fulfilled these objectives.”
The solution was deployed from the fall of 2016 onwards, before going live in March 2017. This solution involves both scanners and software integration. Accordingly, a number of Hamamatsu NanoZoomer XR scanners, each capable of the high-speed digitization of several hundred slides per day, have been installed. Moreover, CaloPix software, supplied by TRIBVN Healthcare, assumes the comprehensive management of laboratory imaging, from gross imaging through to digital slides. In an installation based upon a centralized MS SQL Server database, this solution provides practitioners with fast and easy access to all their images, from any workstation. Physicians are thus able to view, annotate and share their slides in complete security, working in a networked system. In addition, CaloPix interfaces with the laboratory information system, thus permitting the display of images from patient records and the indexing of the latter, together with the generation of work lists and print schedules. Each of these elements of the solution is registered as a class II medical device with Health Canada.
The partnership also incorporates a cooperative dimension, in the interests of the validation of new applications, primarily associated with image analysis and assistance for the interpretation of images. Clinical studies will therefore be undertaken at the CHUM for the clinical validation of the diagnostic application of the CaloPix software solution in the field of diagnostic assistance by image analysis. CaloPix already incorporates tissue and cellular recognition algorithms based upon machine learning tools. The aim is to extend and validate these algorithms on both IHC and H&E slides, in a context where the development of personalized medicine dictates the establishment of increasingly accurate and complex diagnoses. The CHUM has substantial expertise in this field, through the work of its pathologists at the Research Centre (CRCHUM), and through its close links with the University of Montreal.
Dr. Nguyen observes that: “in the context of the centralization of laboratory operations in Quebec, the development of digital pathology at the CHUM, operating as a central server facility, will enhance both productivity and diagnostic reliability, whilst ensuring the effective traceability of samples and generating savings, in terms of both costs and medical time. Workflows will be simplified, innovative tools will be introduced for the improvement of patient care and the promotion of wider-ranging communication. The use of digital slides is ideal for training and research, giving us the tools to address surgical pathology challenges for years to come.”
About the CHUM
Situated in the heart of the Quebec metropolitan development, the University Hospital Centre of Montreal is a globally-renowned centre of excellence for the provision of general and specialized healthcare services to clients within the region and beyond (as part of the integrated university healthcare network of the University of Montreal). Its functions encompass 5 main areas: clinical care and services, education, research, the evaluation of healthcare technologies and modes of intervention, and health promotion. Employing over 900 practitioners and 10,000 staff, the CHUM treats over half a million patients each year.
About TRIBVN Healthcare
For over 20 years, TRIBVN Healthcare has delivered its expertise to the market for diagnostic imaging in biopathology, specifically in the fields of oncology and neurological pathologies. TRIBVN Healthcare designs and supplies solutions for the acquisition, management, processing and sharing of diagnostic cellular and tissue images. TRIBVN Healthcare supplies equipment to hospitals and private health care establishments, together with university and private sector research centres.
Through its comprehensive range of products and services, from integration through to training, the company supports practitioners and researchers in their diagnostic decision-making and scientific evaluation functions, in the service of patients. Confident of its acknowledged expertise and its major capacity for innovation, TRIBVN Healthcare is a leading operator in Europe, and provides its clients with solutions which incorporate the very latest technologies.
Find out more: www.tribvn-hc.com/en/ – www.teleslide.fr
Source: TRIBVN Healthcare
