Sept 13, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Hospitals generate thousands of pathology slides and reports each month. If harnessed, this immense body of knowledge could be used to support a faster and more accurate diagnosis for patients. Grand River Hospital, in partnership with Huron Digital Pathology, is conducting an evaluation of Huron’s state-of-the-art Scan, Organize and Analyze digital pathology solutions that enable seamless digitization and efficient management of pathology slides. The collaborative effort between Huron and Grand River Hospital was made possible by the funding and advisory support provided by OBIO® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™).
Huron’s Scan, Organize and Analyze platform includes the versatile and high throughput TissueScope iQ™ scanner with smart features, which can rapidly scan up to 400 standard pathology slides or 200 double-wide slides. Once scanned, SlideVault™, an image management system, indexes the digitized slide images, making them accessible to pathologists through a web browser and tools for viewing and managing the images.
The evaluation, supported by EAHN™, commenced in April and focuses on assessing the performance of Huron Digital’s solution within the context of Grand River Hospital. Specifically, Grand River Hospital will ensure seamless connectivity and integration between SlideVault™ and Grand River’s existing pathology information system. Pathologists at Grand River will also conduct a retrospective validation study, comparing digital image diagnoses with microscope-based diagnoses to evaluate accuracy and concordance.
“Our engineers have worked for more than a year with Dr. Demo Divaris, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital Integrated Chief of Pathology, and laboratory staff to implement a digital workflow within the anatomic pathology lab. We are pleased to have successfully integrated our scanners and software for the imaging, evaluation, and diagnosis of pathology cases. All of us at Huron are proud that our technology is contributing to the fight against cancer”, said Audil Virk, President of Huron Digital Pathology.
“Grand River Hospital is proud to evolve our partnership with Huron Digital Pathology, one that began as a simple research project over 5 years ago,” said Ron Gagnon, president and CEO of Grand River Hospital. “Our organization is committed to innovating and transforming the way we deliver health care and this includes using a first-of-its-kind technology, like that developed by Huron Digital Pathology.”
“The collaboration between Huron Digital Pathology and Grand River Hospital provides an opportunity to showcase how Canadian digital pathology solutions can revolutionize seamless digitization and efficient management of pathology slides, advancing collaboration, research and diagnostics in the field,” stated Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “This partnership is yet another example of how OBIO® and EAHN™ are spearheading the adoption of cutting-edge Canadian technologies in our healthcare systems, ultimately improving efficiency and patient care.”
“Digital Pathology is the wave of the future in Laboratory Medicine. Nationally, labs face serious health human resource pressures and we need to use innovative technologies to bridge the gap for fair and equitable access to all patients. Further to this, the use of Digital Pathology will be tested in its ability to scale across our region and its use will be expanded to include St. Mary’s General Hospital through our integrated pathology services.” explained Giroux, Integrated Lab Administrative Director at Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital. ” The OBIO® EAHN™ program provided a financial boost to help make this happen, and GRH is excited to partner with Huron Digital Pathology, in our backyard of St. Jacobs.”
About OBIO®
OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™). OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. For more information, please visit OBIO.ca.
About Huron Digital Pathology
Huron Digital Pathology is on a mission to transform glass slides into shareable knowledge. Its Scan, Organize, and Analyze solution for pathology combines award-winning whole slide imaging hardware with powerful image search technology to connect pathologists, researchers and educators with the expertise of their colleagues to help speed up diagnosis and accelerate disease research.
About Grand River Hospital
Grand River Hospital is one of Ontario’s largest community hospitals with an outstanding team of 5,000 dedicated health care workers and volunteers. We provide services and support to more than 840,000 residents at our two campuses and satellite locations in Waterloo Region and Guelph Wellington. We take pride in the ways we collaborate with our health system partners, our region’s academic and innovation communities, and diverse community stakeholders as we work toward providing a world class experience for patients, families and team members.
Our programs include cancer and renal (kidney) services; care for the most seriously ill and injured adults; services for mothers, newborns and children; emergency care; mental health and addictions; and care for older adults including rehabilitation.
Our pathology and laboratory services are integrated with St. Mary’s General Hospital in order to provide seamless services and support to our clinicians and patients in our region.
Contacts:
For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact:
Bibaswan Ghoshal
Senior Director, Technology Adoption
[email protected]
For more information about Huron Digital Pathology Inc, please contact:
Audil Virk
President
[email protected]
For more information about Grand River Hospital, please contact:
Carla Girolametto
Director of Innovation, Research
[email protected]