University Hospital in Finland to Install First Fully Digital Pathology Department

A university hospital in Finland plans to extend its existing PACS to include pathology images significantly improving hospital workflow and diagnostics by facilitating cooperation between radiologists and pathologists in the hospital.

The inclusion of digital pathology in the hospital workflow is a critical step towards improving patient care because it brings improved efficiency in pathology image storage, image review, and sharing.

Sectra’s (Linköping, Sweden) digital pathology solution will be installed at the Diagnostic Imaging Center at Kuopio University Hospital (Kuopio, Finland). The pathology department of the Kuopio University Hospital has a staff of eight pathologists, and currently processes approximately 100,000 glass slides, and 27,000 histological, and cytological exams every year.

The Sectra digital pathology solution provides a complete primary diagnostics solution including image archiving, image storage and review workstations. The solution is based on the same platform as Sectra’s radiology Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS), enabling images from both diagnostic specialties to be stored and displayed on one system, and facilitating multidisciplinary rounds for integrated diagnostics. The solution will also be integrated with the hospital’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

Other hospitals in Europe and Scandinavia are also in the process of digitizing their pathology departments. Digital pathology for primary diagnostics is still pending US FDA approval in the US.

Vesa Kärjä, adjunct professor and chief of Clinical Pathology, Kuopio University Hospital, said, ”With this enterprise imaging solution, we will increase efficiency in pathology as well as improve overall patient care. The investment is a crucial step in our strategy to improve workflow and diagnostics for better patient care.”

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Kuopio University Hospital