Lakeridge Health is the first hospital in Canada to launch a fully integrated digital pathology system that is helping to improve quality, cut wait times, and reduce stress for patients waiting for biopsy results.
“For more complicated cases, we’ve gone from a wait time of 4 to 6 weeks for results to 4 to 6 days. That is a huge drop for people anxiously awaiting results. And it means if they need treatment, it can start a lot faster,” says Kevin Empey, President and CEO of Lakeridge Health. “For some cancers, it could be a life saver.”
Digital pathology scans and uploads images of tissue samples through a cutting-edge digital system that allows pathologists to view the samples from their computer no matter where they are. Through a partnership with the University Health Network (UHN), Lakeridge Health now has access to more than 60 pathologists with specialized knowledge.
“Instead of preparing, packaging and shipping slides across the province or sometimes across the country, now within minutes we can upload the image and it can be seen by the right pathologist the first time,” says Dr. Sylvia Asa, Medical Director of Laboratory Medicine at Lakeridge Health and UHN. “For difficult cases, this means 2 or 3 or even 10 pathologists can look at the sample at the same time, talk to each other about it, and make sure that the first result back is the right one.”
For Pickering retiree Ed Garland, digital pathology meant less stress and faster access to treatment. “If you’re facing an issue with health, like I am, then it’s very important that things are done quickly. I had very, very short turnarounds. That bodes very well for people that are facing cancer,” says Garland. “To me, that’s putting electronics to good use.”
Lakeridge Health currently has two digital scanners and is currently uploading more than 100 slides per day, with the capacity to upload 400. So far, the technology is being used to help diagnose cancers including head and neck, liver, thyroid, lung and bone cancer.
Ontario Minister of Health and Long Term Care and Deputy Premier, the Hon. Deb Matthews says digital pathology at Lakeridge Health is a great example of partnerships in the health care system improving the lives of patients. “I fully commend Lakeridge Health and UHN for what they have been able to accomplish together. This is a tremendous Ontario success story; hospitals working together to make sure patients are getting the highest quality care as quickly as possible.”
Dr. Asa says digital pathology is the wave of the future. “This is the future happening right now,” says Dr. Asa. “Ten years from now I can see every major pathology centre getting into digital pathology. Lakeridge Health is on the leading edge of major change.”
