Three French university hospitals are to adopt the digital pathology solution from Sectra, joining forces to speed up cancer diagnostics.
International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra has received an order for its digital pathology solution from three university hospitals in southwestern France. The hospitals will complement their use of microscopes with a joint digital solution allowing the pathologists to review and collaborate around cases in a way that has not been possible before. Digital access to cases, tools for reviewing, diagnosing and collaborating, and efficient resource sharing will create new ways to improve the treatment of complex diseases, such as cancer care.
The University Hospitals of Bordeaux, Poitiers and Limoges are part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. Together they conduct about 100,000 pathology cases every year.
By moving to a digital workflow, the pathologists will have instant and, if needed, remote access to digital images of tissue samples instead of relying on physical glass slides reviewed in microscopes. They will be able to easily access and share current and historical images and information between departments and hospitals.
"Remote access to pathology cases will enable us to share and leverage resources between our hospitals and to facilitate the management of complex cases requiring special expertise, but also to foster teaching and research activities. It will also allow us to offer our pathologists, if they wish, a more flexible life thanks to remote work," explains Dr O Renaud, pathologist at the Poitiers University Hospital.
With digital images and workflows in place, the intention is to also leverage the opportunities created by AI. The Sectra solution includes an AI platform that makes it easy for healthcare providers to add applications from various AI vendors to the workflow and clinical use.
The contract was signed in September 2022 and is the first order under the four-year framework agreement for pathology that was signed earlier this year. It is part of the regional project eNovA-Path that aims to make all techniques and organ specialists available across the region, regardless of geographic location, through a shared diagnostic network.
Sectra's pathology solution provides pathologists with assistance at critical decision points, such as grading or performing more precise measurements. It also enables image analysis, which in turn reduces variation and improves the precision of tasks such as cell counting. Digital access further facilitates second opinions and external reading resources as well as enabling integrated diagnostics. The pathology solution is part of Sectra's enterprise imaging solution, which provides a unified strategy for all imaging needs while lowering operational costs.
Learn more at www.sectra.com