"With rising health care costs, we have a public responsibility to work effectively," said Dr. Jochen K. Lennerz, principal investigator of the study, in a statement. "Through the genomic revolution we have started to learn how to manage big data. Now there is a pressing need to gain access to and increase flexibility in how pathologists manage the massive amounts of imaging data we procure every day."

There have also been recent discussions with the FDA to potentially streamline the regulatory clearance pathway for digital pathology WSI moving forward, according to the study. Personalized medicine and cancer moonshot movements, projects with the goal of curing cancer, have been gaining visibility in the public eye, so digital pathology’s role in disease diagnostics should not be overlooked, said the study.


“Digital pathology addresses many of the inherent delays present in traditional pathology workflows and supports workplace efficiencies that can be scaled within organizations to streamline processes and cut costs,” said Granzow.

In the U.S., Philips IntelliSite is cleared by the FDA for diagnostic use in the evaluation of HER2 expression in breast cancer, and is offered for research use (RUO). Earlier this month, Philips announced it was among the first pathology IT systems and equipment companies to be certified for compliance with the U.S. Department of Defense security requirements.

Back to HCB News

Health IT Homepage