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PROGRAM SPEAKERS - Top Notch Line Up!

After the great success and feedback from the Definiens Symposium 2010 in Madrid, Definiens is pleased to announce the International Definiens Symposium 2011. The venue will take place at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, October 17-18, 2011.  We invite you to join this event to hear about groundbreaking research, meet other users and share your ideas.

The annual Definiens Symposium is the premier forum for Definiens users and developers from around the world to present their latest research, techniques and workflows in life science image and data analysis. Participants come from research institutions, bio-pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare sector.

Venue: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Vincent A. Stabile Research Building, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, USA

Congratulations to Dr. Gene Herbek and the newly elected governors.  Excellent choices!

From CAP: The results of this summer’s ballot for the CAP election are now final. The College would like to thank all Fellows and Life Fellows who voted in this year’s election.

The winners of this year’s election are:

• President-elect:
  • Gene N. Herbek, MD, FCAP, Omaha, Nebraska
• Governors:
  • Patrick E. T. Godbey, MD, FCAP, Brunswick, Georgia
  • William F. Hickey, MD, FCAP, Lebanon, New Hampshire
  • Stephen J. Sarewitz, MD, FCAP, Renton, Washington
  • Elizabeth A. Wagar, MD, FCAP, Houston, TX

The results will be officially announced and the winners sworn in at the CAP Business Meeting in conjunction with the House of Delegates/Residents Forum joint session on Saturday, September 10, 2011, in Grapevine, Texas. All CAP members are welcome to attend.

From Dark Daily 8/15/2011: Even as the Province of Manitoba deals with some highly-publicized issues in anatomic pathology, over in the neighboring Province of Saskatchewan, a sizeable backlog in anatomic pathology cases earlier in the year caused the Saskatoon Health Region to refer pathology cases to another region within the province.

Read full story at Dark Daily.

Dr. Tom Wheeler has an interesting blog post over at his blog Lab Line by the Doctor’s Doctor.

It starts "I was out of town attending a conference when I got an email from an infectious disease internist wondering if I had done the AFB stain on a bone biopsy that had been specifically ordered by the attending physician on the pathology requisition slip accompanying the specimen.  On the surface this might seem as a reasonable request – the patient had been treated for active tuberculosis involving the bone for over one year and there was a desire to complete the placement of an artificial joint, but only if the tissue was negative for TB."

One of many comments received mentioned "You forget your place; yours is to perform a test at the direction of the attending physician (and in most cases that test is set up by a technician for you to review so you aren't in on the front end). You are not the physician of record and while you have an opinion and level of knowledge that the ordering physician may not (or then again they may have) you do not get to dictate to the "Customer of the Lab" whether or not you will perform the service ordered. Try that on a regular basis and they will take their business elsewhere and there are literally hundreds of labs looking for work. "

Dr. Wheeler goes on to explain that in communication with the clinician, justification for not ordering the stain was provided with an amicable resolution of the matter and reassurance to the clinician was provided and all ended well.  The stain was not done; Dr. Wheeler exercised his right as a physician to use his judgement based on what he knew and saw of the case and did not perform the test, even though it was specifically requested by the ordering physician.

The anonymous comment above takes a different approach and one I must admit is more like I have thought and generally follow.  If a specific stain is ordered, take congo red, to rule out amyloid, I could either a) after reviewing the case if I think it is warranted, order the stain; b) order the stain even if I do not think the histologic findings warrant doing so but performing the stain "just in case"; c) order the stain regardless of what I see on the histology to avoid a subsequent phone call, e-mail or text asking me why I did not order the stain; d) not perform the stain based on what I see on the histology and head off the question or another request to do so with my own phone call or e-mail. 

Depending on the particular request, I must admit I sometimes take the easy way out and do the stain becuase I think if the clinician made the request, they may have some information I do not have in front of me or in the EMR (yes, this does happen -- EMRs only contain information someone puts into them), unless I think the request if completely off the wall.  This way when they ask about the stain, I can report it was done at their request and was negative.  

To some extent, we do this already as standing orders, which in some cases, are not justified.  Helicobacter stains on all "gastric" biopsies. Alcian blue stains on all "esophagus" or liver "panels".  The problem is that for non-gastritis, non-Barrett's cases and liver biopsies to rule out tumors, you may still get stains that are not warranted. Why is this done?  Because the clinicians usually requested it at some point -- Dear medical diretor/chairman/group head -- please do a Helicobacter stain on all stomach biopsies or an alcian blue on all esophagus biopsies so "you don't miss anything".

What do you do/does your practice do about specific stain requests?  Which ones do you do routinely largely because, historically, a clinician or group of clinicians made a standing request at some time?

On its front page, the New York Times (8/10, A1, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports that according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "a simple blood test that can determine a baby's sex as early as seven weeks into pregnancy is highly accurate if used correctly." Experts predict that "parents concerned about gender-linked diseases, those who are merely curious, and people considering the more ethically controversial step of selecting the sex of their children" are all likely to utilize this technology. The Times says similar tests have previously been commercially available but were often inaccurate. In response to concerns of gender selection, some companies require waivers from customers saying they will not use the test for that purpose.

USA Today (8/10, Szabo) reports, "The technology works by detecting 'cell-free fetal DNA,' or DNA from the fetus, which floats freely in a pregnant woman's blood." USA Today also notes specific concerns about possible misuse of the technology, citing a study in The Lancet estimating that "between 4.2 million and 12.1 million female fetuses were 'selectively' aborted in India from 1980 to 2010, a practice that is noticeably skewing the ratio of boys and girls in that country."

The AP (8/10, Tanner) specifies that the procedure tested in this study uses a PCR test for Y chromosome DNA to tell whether the fetus is biologically male or female. AP notes that testing was performed in research settings, while "tests that companies sell directly to consumers were not examined in the analysis." Researchers stated that "blood tests like those studied could be a breakthrough for women at risk of having babies with certain diseases, who could avoid invasive procedures if they learned their fetus was a gender not affected by those illnesses."

The Los Angeles Times (8/9, Khan) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "The researchers found that tests...are about 95% to 99% accurate, depending on several factors. They can be used well before ultrasound...and aren't invasive, unlike amniocentesis, which carries a small but real risk of miscarriage." However, science writer Karen Kaplan warns that "There's a whole industry of questionable genetic tests put out by 'entrepreneurs' that promise to tell parents-to-be practically anything about their future children, from ethnic heritage to most viable future sports activities."

The Wall Street Journal (8/9, Hobson, Subscription Publication) "Health Blog" noted that some diseases, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, require corticosteroid treatment of the mother throughout her pregnancy if the fetus is female. Therefore, the test would find that a woman carrying a female child with this condition should be treated, while a woman carrying a male child with the condition could avoid such treatment.

According to the Boston Globe (8/9, Kotz) "Daily Dose" blog, currently available tests in the US are unregulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Notably, "Several years ago, Lowell-based Acu-Gen Laboratories promised that its Baby Gender Mentor blood test was '99.9 percent accurate' in detecting a fetus's sex at five weeks and offered refunds to anyone who received wrong results. The company was forced into bankruptcy in 2009 after hundreds of women with false results filed class action lawsuits after they said they weren't given any refunds." The researchers who published this study said the Acu-Gen test detected the "Y chromosome only 41 percent of the time." 

In a commentary for MSNBC (8/9), University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics director Arthur Caplan wrote that outside of testing for sex-linked genetic diseases, "everything about the early testing of fetal genes for sex identification spells ethical trouble." Caplan predicted these tests will soon be used for gender-selective abortion, paternity testing, and whether "your 7-week-old fetus is prone to early onset breast, colon or ovarian cancer, Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, dwarfism, deafness, Alzheimer's." Caplan argued this test "promises to soon be a very morally contentious technology." 

MedPage Today (8/9, Fiore) reported, "In a review and meta-analysis, detection of Y-chromosome sequences had a sensitivity of about 95% and a specificity of nearly 99%, Stephanie Devaney, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues reported." Researchers stated "that a disadvantage of fetal DNA blood testing is the need to validate female sex, because the test looks for male, or Y-chromosome, DNA." MedPage Today also noted that the National Human Genome Research Institute funded the study.

10 August 2011 -- Fenway, MA. After many years of anticipation, a killer application has finally been discovered for digital pathology, by researchers at the Fenway University in Boston, Massachussetts. "One would think that simply being able to work from anywhere, share anything, with a full audit trail of what was viewed, and the ability for the computer to assist in scoring would be enough to drive digital pathology adoption," said Dr. Mark Lowell, Professor at Fenway University. "However, the industry has been waiting for a killer application to drive adoption, and we believe we have finally found it."

"We studied pathologist patterns while at the microscope and while traveling to peer reviews, conferences, and tumor boards, and we were struck by an amazing pattern. Pathologists that regularly flew through Newark Airport, were far more likely to go digital in their work than those that did not fly through this airport. Basically, we modified an advanced pattern recognition software that was previously only used in over-training results in gene expression datasets, and applied this to pathologist commuting patterns. The trend was consistent everywhere in the United States, the more a pathologist has to travel through Newark Airport, the more likely he or she will stay home and read slides digitally." 

"These results fit well with other evidence we examined in our algorithm," said Dr. Karlton Phisk, a co-author in the study. "First, a ranking of airports has Newark rated first for the most delays. Second, we noticed that pharmaceutical pathologists seem to be adopting digital slides faster than clinical anatomic pathologists, and we can attribute this directly to them having to fly more frequently through Newark for corporate pharma meetings. Third, the Cambridge area of Boston is adopting digital pathology faster than other parts of the United States. Clearly Boston pathologists hate having to travel through the New York area more than other pathologists would, given the historic rivalry between these two cities."

"Saving even one trip through Newark is well worth the purchase of multiple scanners," said Dr. Karl Yastemsky, a third author on the study. "Actually, avoiding New York City for any reason is worth spending a few additional seconds to view the images digitally versus with glass." 

The results are not without controversy, on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, Professor R. Ruffen of Yanqui University in New York City strongly disagreed with the study's conclusions. "First, scientists in Cambridge will buy anything, and second, Newark is a beautiful airport.  You can see all of New York City multiple times while circling the airport on most flights. If we applied the logic used in this study, we would expect to see British pathologists also adopting whole slide imaging faster than their peers, because Heathrow Airport is one of the worst to fly through." 

The study's original authors disagreed with Dr. Ruffen's logic challenge comparing Heathrow to Newark. "Everyone knows that British pathologists will take every chance they can get to travel, in hopes of escaping bad food and bad weather, so the effect of Heathrow is a net neutral effect," said Mr. Jon Riddeck, a up and coming star and graduate student at Fenway University, and the fourth author on the study. "Although to be fair, the British breakfasts are quite good, but probably not enough to keep pathologists from traveling abroad" he added.

At a recent pathology meeting, several English pathologists first apologized for their Heathrow Airport as well as their weather and their food, but then asked why they were included in this controversy, that seemed entirely American in nature and had nothing to do with them.

Submitted anonymously to avoid reprisals from anyone and everyone

One of the characteristic features of a chronic colitis is abnormal glandular branching.  Often times the glands take on peculiar shapes that resemble other things, in this case, an animal.  Is it me or does this resemble a bear?

Last month it was announced that Mayo Medical Laboratories entered into a pathology testing agreement with a Chinese medical laboratory.  Earlier this year both UCLA and UPMC announced telepathology initiatives with China.  Now comes word that Leica has entered into collaborative efforts for joint sales, research and development with a Chinese company:

Beijing, China / Wetzlar, Germany. China Medical Technologies, Inc. (CMED) (Nasdaq: CMED), a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic (“IVD”) company, and Leica Biosystems, a division of Leica Microsystems, a world leader in microscopes and scientific instruments, today announced that they have established a sales, research and development collaboration to co-develop and market automated FISH kits to be used on the Leica BOND system. CMED will sell the Automated FISH Kits in China and Leica will have an option to sell the FISH kits in the rest of the world.

 Under the collaboration, CMED and Leica Microsystems will jointly develop automated FISH solutions for tissue sample tests on HER-2, EGFR and TOP2A on the Leica BOND system, an automated advanced staining platform. HER-2, EGFR and TOP2A are genes in connection with the targeted cancer therapy drugs for breast cancer, lung cancer and stomach cancer patients. Automation of these FISH tests on the Leica BOND system will enable pathology laboratories and independent service laboratories to run these diagnostic tests more efficiently and with higher and more consistent quality. The automation of FISH tests will also help users to reduce the work load pressure created by increasing test volumes. Both parties agreed to add further FISH applications into the collaboration during the term, including for cytology and pre-natal applications.

“These collaborations with Leica mark a significant milestone for us,” commented Mr. Xiaodong Wu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMED. “We believe that FISH applications will be more widely used in various clinical applications on automated basis in the future. By partnering with Leica, one of the leading global players anatomic pathology, we can provide more efficient and higher quality FISH diagnostic solutions to the end users not only in China, but also in the global markets through Leica’s extensive global network.”

“CMED is the market leader for FISH based diagnostics in China and has played a key role in the rapid development in the use of FISH in China, especially for tissue based companion diagnostic testing. This partnership will help Leica and CMED to offer customers in China a broad test menu of high quality FISH tests automated on the Leica BOND system,” commented Arnd Kaldowski, President of Leica Biosystems.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Leica Microsystems is a world leader in microscopes and scientific instruments. Founded as a family business in the nineteenth century, the company’s history was marked by unparalleled innovation on its way to becoming a global enterprise. Its historically close cooperation with the scientific community is the key to Leica Microsystems’ tradition of innovation, which draws on users’ ideas and creates solutions tailored to their requirements. At the global level, Leica Microsystems is organized in four divisions, all of which are among the leaders in their respective fields: the Life Science Division, Industry Division, Biosystems Division and Medical Division.

Leica Microsystems’ Biosystems Division, also known as Leica Biosystems, offers histopathology laboratories the most extensive product range with appropriate products for each work step in histology and for a high level of productivity in the working processes of the entire laboratory.

The company is represented in over 100 countries with 12 manufacturing facilities in 7 countries, sales and service organizations in 19 countries and an international network of dealers. The company is headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany.

China Medical Technologies, Inc. is a leading China-based advanced IVD company using molecular diagnostic technologies including Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and an immunodiagnostic technology, Enhanced Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (ECLIA), to develop, manufacture and distribute diagnostic products used for the detection of various cancers, diseases and disorders as well as companion diagnostic tests for targeted cancer drugs. The Company generates all of its revenues in China through the sale of diagnostic consumables including FISH probes, SPR-based DNA chips and ECLIA reagent kits to hospitals which are recurring users of the consumables for their patients. The Company sells FISH probes and SPR chips to large hospitals through its direct sales force and ECLIA reagent kits to small and mid-size hospitals through distributors. For more information, please visit http://www.chinameditech.com.

The VS120 virtual microscopy slide scanning system from Olympus scans faster than ever before, offers image deconvolution/deblurring for ultra-sharp images and provides important fluorescence imaging capabilities. Virtual slide creation could not be simpler—just set the slide in place and press Start. The system creates outstanding brightfield slide scans up to three times faster than was possible with earlier systems, making it ideal for training, education, archiving and research.

The VS120 is the latest in a series of Olympus virtual microscopy systems that can scan up to 100 slides at a time at very high fidelity, so that users anywhere in the world can view and fully navigate high-resolution images of entire microscope slides or slide areas using a computer. It comes equipped with a 5-megapixel CCD brightfield camera that improves brightfield scanning speeds while delivering superb color reproduction and ultra-high resolution.

Olympus is a world leader in fluorescence microscopy, and no other virtual microscopy system available today can match the fluorescence slide scanning performance of the VS120.

Acquiring sharp images at multiple depths using six or more fluorescence labels is possible, thanks to OlympusFluorescence Virtual-Z capability. The software adjusts for the potentially different focal positions of various wavelengths in multichannel acquisition. Automated batch scanning can be accommodated with fluorescence samples and individual shading correction isavailable for each color channel. In addition, the VS120 provides for online deblurring during fluorescence acquisition, which vastly improves image sharpness in real time.

“The VS120 provides users with the exceptional optical performance and reliability people have come to expect from Olympus, which is renowned for both research microscopy and pathology imaging,” said Brad Burklow, director of business development for the Olympus America Scientific Equipment Group.

In addition to its faster scan speeds, the system offers more than 30 software enhancements. No-neighbor and nearest-neighbor deconvolution are available offline and a wide range of measurement and annotation functions are supported. Images can now be saved in .tiff and .btf file formats, along with the .vsi virtual slide file format. To support users working simultaneously with images from the Nanozoomer virtual microscopy scanning system, the .ndpi file format is supported.

The VS120 is built around the Olympus renowned optical and microscope technologies. For superior optical performance and scanning flexibility, Olympus Plan Apo 2x, 10x, 20x and 40x objectives come as standard, with optional 60x and 100x Plan Apo oil objectives for high-magnification oil immersion scanning.

Source: Olympus America Inc.

Read more at Olympus Virtual Microscopy site.

There are a number of reasons for this, namely, ubiqutous pre-mortem imaging with improved techniques and detection of disease pre-mortem, lack of payment/reimbursement, more out of hosptial deaths and decreased number of physicians trying to obtain consent.  I have seen the autopsy rate at some hospitals in my career as low as 8%.  What is not clear to me is why/how JCAHO does not cite for these kinds of findings and why more is not done in clinical medicine to obtain consent for what is still widely considered the "gold standard" in medicine for clinicopathologic correlation and assessing effects of therapy and natural history of disease.

It is said the Virchow himself performed over 50,000 autopsies.  I can't imagine doing that many, but these numbers are paltry.

The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Hobson) "Health Blog" reported that CDC statistics show that in 2007, autopsies were performed on 8.5% of deaths, compared with 19.3% of deaths in 1972. CDC scientist Donna Hoyert says this may be due to medical professionals believing that autopsies are unnecessary due to modern technology. However, doctors point out that autopsies can contradict imaging findings, and alert families to genetic conditions. The report also notes that the Joint Commission has removed a rule that hospitals must perform autopsies on 20% to 25% of deaths. 

HealthDay (8/4, Preidt) reported that "in 1972, deaths due to disease accounted for 79 percent of autopsies, while deaths due to external causes such as injury or murder accounted for 19 percent. By 2007, the respective percentages were 46 percent and 50 percent, the investigators found. External causes of death -- including murder, accidental injury, suicide or undetermined cause -- accounted for nine of the 10 most frequently autopsied causes of death in 2007." The report also showed that "while the number of deaths among older people increased from 1972 to 2007, autopsied deaths were increasingly concentrated in the one to 34 and 35 to 64 age groups." WebMD (8/4, Hendrick) also covered the study.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/08/04/the-incredible-shrinking-autopsy/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_health

New this year -- CME will be offered to physicians attending the meeting.  I know from personal involvement this was a team effort with a couple of pathologists involved with the Digital Pathology Association (DPA) and the DPA staff.  

My sense from years past is that more pathologists would attend if CME were offered.  Now it is.

Earn up to 13 hours at this meeting.  The talks, combined with the exhibits and networking opportunities should place Pathology Visions high on your list of the many Fall meetings to attend.

I use to say that the Visions conference was a greet meeting in a great venue but now add on the CME and will only add to the meeting program and offerings.

My personal thanks to DPA staff -- in particular Lindsey M. and Michael W. for making this a reality.

Please see attached announcement.

Download Dpa_blogCME_01_ACT.

Select Topics in Image Analysis:
Algorithm Tuning for IHC Analysis and An Introduction to Genie

August 23, 2011

8:00 am Pacific Time, 11:00 am Eastern Time
(4:00 pm London GMT / 10:00 am Mexico City Standard Time)
and 
4:00 pm Pacific Time, 7:00 pm Eastern Time
(8:00 am Japan Time / 9:00 am Australia EST August 24)
  

Presenter:
Marc Friedman, Ph.D, Imaging Scientist and Digital Pathology Consultant, Aperio

In this 60-minute complimentary webinar, Dr. Friedman will present an overview of algorithm tuning for IHC probes, as well as an introduction to Genie and how it is used as a pre-processor for other image analysis algorithms.  

To register for the 8 am PDT session, click here.

https://aperio.webex.com/aperio/onstage/g.php?d=768917066&t=a

To register for the 4 pm PDT session, click here.

https://aperio.webex.com/aperio/onstage/g.php?d=765740143&t=a

You may also register by visiting the Aperio Events page.

You will receive a confirmation email upon registration with a web link that will lead you to the online event. Simply visit the link at the assigned time. The session is secure and easy to access. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact the Aperio Events Team at events@aperio.comor 760.539.1192. 

Interesting blog post on tipping points in digital pathology:

“Social consensus through the influence of committed minorities” (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.84.011130) is a fascinating read. In it, Xie et al. of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute take the well-known phenomenon of an inflection point in thinking – a tipping point past which a minority opinion will become the majority opinion – and use computational and analytic simulations to try to determine what that point might be. Their conclusion? That when the number of “true believers” reaches 10% of a given population, conversion of the rest of the population becomes inevitable. Below 10%, it would take far longer for such a conversion to take place.

Read more.

Genecompany is now the sole distributor for Aperio in Hong Kong and China.

We’re pleased to inform that Genecompany is now the authorized distributor for Aperio in Hong Kong and China. With this agreement, Genecompany now offer our customers the Aperio‘s products which are the only complete solution for digital pathology over the world.

Read more.

Courtesy of Gene Company.

After more than 100 years of active operations, Walter Reed Army Medical Center lowered its flag for the last time as activities transition to the newly constructed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in neighboring Bethesda, MD.

The hospital was known for both treating U.S. presidents and high ranking military and civilian officials and scandal alike. 

I first went to Walter Reed in 1995 as a senior medical student to do a rotation in pathology and check out the program and area as possible site of my residency training.

Truth be told, I wanted to go to Hawaii, California or Colorado where there were active Army hospitals with pathology residency programs.  By the time I finished medical school and internship, those programs were closed.

Walter Reed was one of the Army pathology programs that remained and we stayed at Walter Reed for 9 years were I completed my internship, residency and had my first job in practice.  

Some of the best years of my life, personally and professionally, although I don't think I appreciated it at the time.  The day I started "clearing post" was the day the BRAC list come out with Walter Reed's name on it.  6 years later, much like AFIP as well which was an installation on the Walter Reed campus, has closed down its operations.  

What military medicine offers trainees and physicians is a camaraderie and sense of group effort that is hard to match in civilian medicine.  Within the military healthcare system you were able to practice medicine.  No asking permission from insurance companies for approvals, no reimbursement issues that directly impacted you or issues with hospital contracts, payers, payees, etc... Nevermind you were fortunate enough to take care of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines -- people charged with defending our country at times with personal sacrifice and taking care of their families who counted on these individuals to be safe from harm.

Hard to imagine people actually told me ten years ago the government would never close Walter Reed or AFIP.  

Times change.

There is a quote I heard or saw a number of years ago that says something like "Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its own existence".

Recently ESPN went through a telethon for the Jimmy V Foundation and the ESPY awards and celebration always receive mention of Coach Jim Valvano and his famous "Never Give Up" speech.  

Occasionally, I think of Dr. Randy Pausch and his "Last Lecture" speech.  

These men and countless others, both patients, families, friends and providers have strived to raise money to find cancer cures.  

What if the cure for cancer were discovered tomorrow?  And the efforts of tens of thousands of volunteers, researchers, organizers, physicians, politicians, deans and bureaucrats saw to it that a cure could be found.

Of course, one of the reasons a cure for cancer has not been discovered despite countless hours and trillions in funding worldwide is that cancer is not a single disease, it is very heterogeneous, even among cancers that involve the same organ or organ system.

For the sake of argument what if the cures for colon, lung, breast and prostate cancer were discovered tomorrow?

How long would it be before the cure was validated by groups outside those making the initial claim and the product brought to market?  

Would the cure treat only those diagnosed with the disease or could it be taken to prevent the disease?

Ask this question of anyone in passing (at least for me when I talk to folks in healthcare, laboratories, fellow pathologists) and you will hear "I would be out of a job".  But would they?  

What would a cure do to the economics of healthcare as it pertains to oncology diagnostics, therapeutics, oncologic surgery, radiation and management of known complications of the disease and its treatments? 

What effect would the saved lives that may have been lost due to population statistics and what impact would that have on other diseases and medical specialties?  Fewer oncology visits may mean increased cardiology referrals as one example. Would it be too late for me to do a cardiology fellowship?

Future posts will try to tackle some of these hypothetical scenarios based on known facts, figures, costs and population models.  If you know of any good sources, please let me know.

Albuquerque, New Mexico 7/26/2011 – Indica Labs, inc. announces new capabilities for measuring dual ISH assays for the purpose of measuring gene amplification in tumors and other tissues. The new, fully automated and quantitative solution allows researchers and pathologists to measure dual ISH assays, such as those provided by leading reagent manufacturers, with the single click of a button rather than having to manually count spots which is an arduous process. The software rapidly counts dual probe signals and reports ratios between probes on a per cell basis. This automated approach is not only faster and less error prone than manual interpretation of the assays, it also generates additional data such as signal ratios and signal counts at the cellular level in addition to the specimen or tumor level data. This additional level of detail is useful in measuring the cellular heterogeneity within tumors. Indica Labs, CEO Steven Hashagen stated:

“We are excited about expanding our ISH quantification capabilities. The use of brightfield ISH assays is increasingly becoming more main-stream and image analysis software dramatically simplifies the work involved for scoring these assays. Moreover, the use of dual ISH kits makes image analysis quantification even more of a necessity than before.”

This latest release of Indica's ISH software is highly configurable such that it can be used to measure a wide range of reagent kits, tissue types, and image file formats. Prior to this announcement, Indica Labs’ product offering included several other tools for measuring just single probe CISH, SISH, and RNA ISH assays. To learn more about any of the ISH quantification products visit http://indicalab.com/products.html. Additionally, Indica Labs and Aperio presented all of these capabilities in a complementary webinar that aired on July 21st. To view a recording of the webinar, visit http://www.aperio.com/pathology-events/webinar_events.asp.

###

About Indica Labs, Inc.

Indica Labs provides sophisticated pathology image processing software for whole slide tissue analysis. Indica Labs' software tools seamlessly integrate into leading digital pathology platforms to provide reproducible and highly quantitative data to pathologists in hospitals, academic medical centers, government research institutions, global pharmaceutical companies, and small biotech firms. For more information, please visit http://www.indicalab.com. Indica Labs products are intended for research use only.

Contact

Indica Labs, Inc. info@indicalab.com

i-Path is pleased to introduce improved performance for PathXL platform, available to all customers from the 20th July 2011.  This upgrade will bring noticeable benefits for i-Path customers who use PathXL for research, education and clinical purposes.

The PathXL acceleration integrates with the PathXL Image Server to speed up the delivery of digital images.  From 20th July 2011 images will be provided to the customer using a faster network connection (gigabit) and intelligent algorithm compression techniques.  Current PathXL users will experience noticeable improvements,  with instantaneous image viewing on suitable bandwidth networks.

All i-Path hosted customers will benefit immediately from this upgrade with no additional effort required from the side of the customer.

Please contact the i-Path Support Team for more information.