Medical imaging

SickKids implements novel pathology PACS

TORONTO – IBM and Apollo PACS Inc. say they have implemented one of the most comprehensive pathology digital imaging systems in North America, at The Hospital for Sick Children. The solution is enabling clinicians to collaborate more efficiently, analyze tissue faster and better diagnose pediatric patients.

With the Apollo system, the hospital can consolidate pathology resources and provide access to specialty expertise from anywhere at anytime. The hospital is also testing streaming images back to an operating room for a surgeon and pathologist to collaborate on, in real time, at the point of care.

The system enables the hospital to directly capture tissue sample data and images from digital cameras attached to microscopes and other pathology imaging sources. Internet video and audio streaming will also be used, allowing clinicians to look at live, high-resolution images from under a microscope over a network.

The system provides an easy-to-use application for pathologists to capture and visualize the hundreds of images they collect every day, some containing several megabytes of data. It also allows the user to quickly and easily enter copious amounts of descriptive information that can be used for flagging and image retrieval.

“Digital pathology is more than just high quality images,” said Dr. Glenn Taylor, Head of the Division of Pathology at SickKids. “Addressing key issues of security, ease of use, integration with lab workflow, uptime and adherence to open standards are critical to a successful pathology PACS implementation.”

The system uses a secure, open standard format so the digital images can be captured by a variety of devices and accessed and integrated with a variety of systems, including the hospital’s laboratory information system and electronic patient record. The system uses Apollo’s PathPACS enterprise pathology PACS system and runs on IBM storage and hardware technology.

About Apollo PACS Inc.
Apollo is a privately held company, incorporated in Delaware, and headquartered in Falls Church, VA. Apollo’s solution revolutionizes laboratory workflow by consolidating pathology resources throughout the enterprise, streamline the imaging process, and optimizing pathology case workflow for lab personnel. Apollo provides a unique end-to-end laboratory PACS solution to manage diagnostic case workflow.

For more information about IBM Healthcare, please visit www.ibm.com/healthcare.