Five years ago, two key takeaways from a survey of their pathologists sent NorthShore University HealthSystem toward the front lines of a technological revolution: digital pathology.
The team almost unanimously agreed that, first, it was time to consider AI as an aid to microscopic tissue analysis. And second, 73% wanted the flexibility to work remotely at another site or at home, at least sometimes, via telepathology.
It was about 2000 when Yale pathologist John Sinard, MD, PhD, first heard the prediction. “In five years, we won’t be using microscopes,” a respected peer quipped. “We’ll be examining all our slides as digitized images on computer monitors.”
Nearly a quarter-century later, Sinard reports: “I’m at my workstation, and my microscope is sitting right here next to me.”
With more than 7 million digitized slides on hand, the pathology department at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City represents one of the largest repositories of whole slide images in the world. It’s no surprise the library is so large, as it’s been accruing new images since 2008. And with total case volumes exceeding one million slide reads per year, the inventory continues to grow at that scale.
Remember when X-ray abandoned cumbersome film once sleek digital suitors showed up? It happened little by little, not all at once. In much the same way, radiology datasets are leaving cramped hardware spaces for the inexhaustible, ever-flexible expanse of the cloud.
Korak Sarkar, MD, vividly recalls a clinical case that clearly demonstrated the significant impact that enterprise imaging can have on healthcare delivery.
Mary Mahoney, MD, spoke with imagingBiz about what life is like as a department chair and shared her thoughts on several hot topics affecting breast imaging today.
For the team at the Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin (FH and MCW) in Milwaukee, Conserus Workflow Intelligence is the solution that keeps on giving.
If radiology departments want to stay relevant and thrive in the U.S. healthcare industry’s shift from volume-to-value, they need to clearly demonstrate their contribution to the organization’s overall success.
In 2011, officials at Alberta Health Services made a startling discovery. A number of CT studies in a rural community had been misinterpreted, raising questions about patient care.
