Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, which was established in 2009 and part of the Catholic Medical Centre (CMC), recently announced that it has been operating a digital pathology system that aids in the diagnosis of cancer since last month. The system, known as the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution, allows the hospital’s pathology team to obtain accurate diagnosis results through a digitalised method.

The system automatically creates, visualises, and manages digital pathology images based on an image management system, including a slide scanner, a server, a storage device, and a viewer.

The digitalisation of pathology images will allow pathologists to make diagnoses through computer monitors. In addition, clinicians from other departments in the hospital can digitally access the digital pathology images easily, increasing efficiency and opening more opportunities for collaboration.

THE LARGER TREND

In 2017, the Philips received FDA clearance to market its IntelliSite Pathology Solution for primary diagnostic use in the US. The solution also received the green light from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June 2018.

In the US, Mount Sinai and LabCorp announced last month that they would collaborate to establish the Mount Sinai Digital and Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Pathology Centre of Excellence. LabCorp, has implemented the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution in four of its laboratories and plans to introduce it to additional laboratories, will use its experience and expertise to lead the integration of digital pathology into clinical practice across Mount Sinai’s hospitals.

A report by Frost & Sullivan in February 2019 “sees wider use and better management of the clinical datasets owned by major medical institutions as a major boon for developers of digital pathology tech.”

ON THE RECORD

“Through the establishment of a digital pathology system, we will be able to shift from previous ways of interpreting analog microscopic image to a more digitalised technology, which will boost efficiency and productivity,” said Lee Youn-soo, a professor at St. Mary’s Department of Pathology in a statement.