Ann: Optiscan Completes Cloud-based Telepathology Software MVP, page-8

Health Check: Optiscan perfects ‘dial a pathologist’



Canadian tech partner Prolucid Technologies have advanced telepathology streaming software enabling a surgeon to seek the counsel of a remote pathologist during an operation.
And that could be very remote.
The software has advanced to minimum viable product stage: when a product meets the minimum use requirements but can be tweaked further.
The cloud-based software enables pathologists to review high-resolution images, generate reports and collaborate within secure settings.
The software “essentially brings the pathologist into the heart of the operating theatre and bridges the gap between surgery and pathology,” says Optiscan CEO Dr Camile Farah.
“This platform is a potential game changer for global digital pathology, with particular relevance to regional, rural and remote healthcare settings where access to pathology expertise is limited.”

Eliminating microscopes

Naturally, the software is compatible with Optiscan’s medical devices, which are based on the company’s proprietary confocal laser endomicroscopy, or CLE.
CLE eliminates the age-old and unreliable method of analysing tissue samples under a traditional microscope.
The magic involves a single optical fibre in a probe projecting laser light on to live tissue treated with fluorescent dye.
This creates real-time digital microscopic images at a magnification 1000 times that of computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scanning.
CLE avoids the need for painful biopsies.
Optiscan is carrying out a 50-patient breast cancer trial at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Frances Perry House.
This is in view of an eventual US Food & Drug Adminstration (FDA) approval submission.
The telepathology project now will focus on validating the platform in real-world uses, incorporating user feedback and “preparing for broader clinical deployment”.
Optiscan shares surged 13% this morning.