(PRWEB) November 22, 2011

An unprecedented number of digital pathology professionals attended the 7th annual Pathology Visions Conference earlier this month. The Digital Pathology Association (DPA) gathering in San Diego featured more than 50 presenters and 42 educational sessions.

“We had the highest number of attendees in the history of our conference, and we are very proud of the role the Pathology Visions Conference plays in the education of those in the digital pathology profession,” said Dirk Soenksen, President of the Digital Pathology Association and Chair of the Pathology Visions Program Committee. “At this year’s conference, we had participants from 30 states, 17 countries, and 174 organizations who left with a greater understanding of the cutting-edge applications of digital pathology. We’re already planning for next year’s conference which will be held Oct. 28 - 31, 2012 in Baltimore, MD. ”

For the first time, the Indiana State Medical Association offered physician attendees of the Pathology Visions Conference the opportunity to earn up to 13 continuing medical education (CME) credits. For those who were not able to attend and still want to earn CME credits, two of the conference presentations, the keynote address and regulatory panel discussion, are now available online.

The Regulatory Panel discussion entitled, “Navigating Digital Pathology’s Path to Patients” was led by Dr. Stephen Hewitt, NCI and a member of the 2009 FDA Hematology and Pathology Devices Advisory Panel on Digital Pathology. Others on the panel included: Tremel Faison, MS, RAC, SCT (ASCP) representing the FDA Office of In Vitro Diagnostic Device Evaluation and Safety; Walter Henricks, M.D., Cleveland Clinic, representing the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program and the CAP Quality Center Work Group on whole slide imaging systems; and Debra Sydnor representing the CMS Division of Laboratory Services (overseeing CLIA).

Dr. Mahul B. Amin’s keynote presentation was entitled, “Personalized Medicine: Empowering Light Microscopy and the Pathologist.” Dr. Amin is the Chairman and Professor of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His presentation reviewed the role of the pathologist in contemporary healthcare and discussed the contributions, strengths, and limitations of traditional microscopy.

Recordings of the keynote session or the Regulatory Panel discussion can be purchased by clicking here.

Also new to the conference this year was the Pathology Visions Poster Presentation Contest. The competition gave attendees the opportunity to be rewarded for their digital pathology knowledge. Winners included:

Best Poster by a Resident – Bryan Dangott, University of Utah Medical Center; Automated Image Analysis, Scoring and Automation

Honorable Mention Resident – Brad Chaser, MD, Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK; Using Whole Slide Digital Images to Assess and Monitor Resident Progress in Surgical Pathology

Best Research Poster – Christopher Tully, Aperio, Genie Classifier Development for Histology Pattern Recognition

Honorable Mention for Research – Kate Lillard, Aperio; Evaluation of an Automated Histology Pattern Recognition Tool for Selection and Analysis of Viable Tumor in Xenograft Sections Stained with CD-31

Best Education Poster – Dr. Brad Chaser, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Using Whole Slide Digital Images to Assess and Monitor Resident Progress in Surgical Pathology

Honorable Mention Education – Dr. Steven Schmechel, University of Minnesota; Development of Multigene Expression Signature Maps at the Protein Level from Digitized Immunohistochemistry Slides

Best Clinical Poster – Bryan Dangott, University of Utah Medical Center; Automated Image Analysis, Scoring & Annotation

Honorable Mention Clinical – Maria Coats, University of Dundee; Optical Projection Tomography as a Diagnostic Tool for Colorectal Polyps

Peoples’ Choice Best Poster – Mohamed Salama, University of Utah; Plasma Cell Spatial Distribution Pattern Correlate with Unique Molecular Profiling Signature

Other big winners at the Pathology Visions Conference were the Travel Award recipients who were chosen based on their understanding of the impact of digital pathology and whole slide imaging in the specialty of pathology. Click here to read more about our winners: Ghassan Allo, MD; Fernando Antelo, MD; Ronald “George” Hauser III, MD; Dianne Kovacic; and Steven Smith, MD, PhD.

If you were able to attend Pathology Visions earlier this month, we want your feedback. Fill out this online evaluation form about the topics and caliber of presenters so we incorporate your feedback into the 2012 Pathology Visions Conference.

Please stay involved with the Digital Pathology Association by joining the discussion on Linkedin, Facebook, andTwitter. To join the DPA, please visit our website. If you are already a member and are interested in joining the program, membership, website, regulatory, or white paper committees, please email us at info(at)digitalpathologyassociation(dot)org.

The mission of the Digital Pathology Association is to facilitate education and awareness of digital pathology applications in healthcare and life sciences. Members will be encouraged to share best practices and promote the use of the technology among colleagues in order to demonstrate efficiencies, awareness, and its ultimate benefits to patient care.