New Partnership Unifies Digital Pathology Platforms

Digital pathology is a powerful tool for scientists to assess patient specimens quickly and effectively. However, smaller companies who offer imaging software may not be able to meet the demands of a large institution or hospital network, where the volume of work is much greater.

Now, Leica Biosystems and Sectra Medical have teamed up in hopes of offering a comprehensive solution to meet the needs of such enterprise-level customers.

In a statement, Colin White, global vice president of Leica Biosystems Advanced Staining & Imaging Business said, “This is an important step towards improving patient care with digital technology. We look forward to working with Sectra to offer streamlined digital pathology solutions for clinical organizations.”

Digital pathology is a staple in cancer diagnostics and drug development. This technique enables scientists to assess pathological slides with greater accuracy, higher resolution and in less time compared to traditional microscopy techniques. As a result, users can make informed treatment and diagnostics decisions in a timely manner.

However, even an industry giant like Leica Biosystems recognizes that a single provider will have difficulty offering the wide range of services required by their customers. Together, Leica and Sectra have submitted a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) application in hopes of bringing this solution into use.

The new partnership features Leica’s proprietary digital pathology scanner, Aperio AT2 DX. The device, which already has FDA 510(k) clearance, let’s the user review and interpret digital images of surgical pathology slides derived from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. To aid in decision-making, users can leverage Sectra’s sophisticated software solution, which enables users to access archived images and data derived from electronic medical records and a database of pathology information.

“Leveraging Leica Biosystems’ existing 510(k) clearance for its Aperio AT2 DX scanner, and extending it with the Sectra Digital Pathology Solution for hospitals and health systems, enable us to deliver a clinical solution to meet the needs of the truly integrated digital hospitals of today and tomorrow,” says Torbjörn Kronander, founder and CEO of Sectra. “This is an exciting and important advancement for the clinical pathology industry and a huge step forward in clinical usability.”

The demand for new, more effective and targeted therapies will continue to drive innovation among device manufacturers. The combined platform born out of this partnership could potentially set a new benchmark for large-scale digital pathology.