The Top 3 Benefits Tech Brings to Pathologists

Image by Tim Sandle

Pathologists possess specialized training in analyzing tissues and bodily fluids with laboratory instruments and techniques. Many have adapted their processes to harness the benefits of digital pathology. What advantages can they expect from those strategic changes? 

 

By Emily Newton 

1. Accelerated Diagnoses

Pathologists’ findings provide critical insights throughout the diagnostic phase, ruling out specific ailments and confirming abnormalities through dedicated investigations. This expertise directly impacts patients, who often experience frustration, prolonged symptoms and heightened anxiety due to the associated uncertainty of health issues.

 

Technology can improve overall accuracy rates while shortening time frames, getting them on the appropriate treatment paths sooner. Team members also appreciate the improvements because they impact internal workflows in ways that minimize wasted time and resources.

 

Elea is a startup offering an artificial intelligence-powered pathology operating system that combines intelligent automation, workflow precision and communication capabilities, causing up to 60% shorter case turnaround times by streamlining essential steps. Users elevate potential efficiency during tasks such as sample processing and reporting and regain time to focus on complex duties.

 

The platform’s creators pinpointed the process-related and operational challenges numerous professionals face while including useful features to minimize manual interventions. That approach relieves administrative burdens while boosting care and keeping labs compliant with stringent regulations. Since the innovation supports real-time documentation, it increases productivity and confidence in outcomes.

 

Rapid tech adoption within the health care industry has changed other diagnosis methods. For example, applying AI algorithms to MRI machines reconstructs images faster and detects abnormalities to lighten radiologists’ workloads. These enhancements benefit everyone involved.

2. Improved Collaboration

Pathologists demonstrate internal and external teamwork during daily operations, which may require mentoring new lab staff or consulting veteran employees for assistance. Additionally, they communicate with various parties throughout medical facilities, including surgeons and specialist physicians. Better partnerships are among the frequently recognized benefits of digital pathology.

 

Technology enables quickly sharing and commenting on lab results, pictures, and other data, letting experts pool their knowledge and back up specific opinions. Estimates suggest overall adoption of digitalization tools for pathologists at this early stage is 5%-10% but could reach 90% within the next several years.

 

Technological improvements are central to the projected fast rise. Platforms can now scan, store and display high-quality images at a previously impossible scale, assisting employees who want to show content to colleagues on another floor or in a different country.

 

These offerings become even more valuable if they include advanced features that help lab staff differentiate between tumors and subtypes, conduct quantitative biomarker analyses, and improve education opportunities. In such applications, technology becomes a partner to busy individuals, helping them get advice from fellow specialists to supplement initial findings.

3. Targeted Patient Assistance

Pathologists are essential public health contributors that rely on their skills and experience to prevent and track outbreaks, monitor trends, and educate people about preventive measures against contagious illnesses. Those who understand and reap the benefits of digital pathology know technology enhances mobilization, allowing them to assist underserved populations, including residents who do not regularly visit or cannot access medical facilities.

 

In one example, authorities at the Yale School of Medicine’s pathology labs debuted an advanced laboratory in a van powered by an electrical outlet or generator. It allows care providers to meet Connecticut community members in convenient locations rather than requiring them to travel for support.

 

The specialty vehicle enables same-day sample collection and processing and gives patients the findings just as efficiently. This approach helps practitioners optimize availability by moving to various sites within a single workday, broadening the possible reach and raising visibility.

 

Employees staffing the van also dispense clinical guidance, such as explaining the next steps to individuals with identified or potential concerns that could put themselves or others at risk. They can run saliva-based PCR tests in the van and get results in only two hours, preventing lengthy delays. Additionally, efficient news accommodates households without Wi-Fi. Patients can return at specified times or receive phone calls to learn the outcomes instead of waiting for emails containing portals for retrieving test results.

 

Local partners suggested additional ways to utilize the fully licensed, high complexity molecular mobile lab by offering complementary health services. Future efforts may involve pathologists teaming up with colleagues who give blood pressure checks, glucose readings and other screenings. Similarly, staffers can distribute helpful information on matters such as STI prevention, harm reduction and recommended vaccination schedules. Collective resources give locals a one-stop destination for improved wellness and heightened awareness.

Experiencing the Benefits of Digital Pathology

These examples show how digital pathology investments help medical professionals deliver tailored patient resources, revamp existing processes and develop new ones. Decision-makers hoping to incorporate advanced technologies into labs should seek employee feedback to discover their most common challenges and which alterations would save substantial time.

 

Scheduling a generous adoption period is another crucial step for process changes and using new tools competently. It facilitates experimentation and supports finding new approaches to meet particular needs. Once the overall advantages become clear, it is easier to justify further tech enhancements across laboratories and organizations.

 

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)

Opportunistic pathogens in patients with urinary tract infection

 

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain one of the most important problems of modern urology and medicine. Infections bring great discomfort and significantly reduce the quality of life. UTIs rank second after respiratory tract infections in outpatients. The most common pathogen of UTI are E.coli. The study of the etiology of UTI has great clinical and epidemiological importance in routine practice.

 

To assess the etiological significance of pathogens in the occurrence of urinary tract infections in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. Methods: A total of 2378 patients presenting UTIs were enrolled and each provided a urine sample. The study was carried out in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory MediTEC-NS between 2 January and 29 December 2018.

 

We found that UTIs among our study population were predominantly caused by ten opportunistic pathogens. The most common uropathogens with a frequency of 66.9% were E. coli30.53%, S. epidermidis -20.16%, and Enterococcus spp. -16.21%. Frequently isolated pathogens included Klebsiella, S. haemolyticus spp., and Streptococcus spp. which amounted to 21.98%. The distribution within the patient group was equable and ranged from 6,67% to 8,15%. Etiologically significant pathogens included Enterobacter spp., Proteus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp. These bacteria accounted for 11.11%. The distribution within the group was again equable and ranged within 2,55% to 2,96%.

Reference:

 

Chesca, A., Medetova, A., Abdulina, G., Kabduova, A., Beysembayeva, G., Moraru, D. and Sandle, T. (2021) Opportunistic pathogens in patients with urinary tract infection, Preprints 2022, 2022020020 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202202.0020.v1) https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202202.0020/v1

 

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)

Genetic method for identifying disease agents

 

In the pursuit of accurate diagnoses for illnesses, doctors have traditionally used multiple methods -- including culturing patient samples on a wide variety of media, reviewing countless medical records and analyzing clinical data using complex mathematical algorithms -- to try to identify the bacterium, virus, fungus or other pathogen responsible for an infection. The hunt is often slow and laborious, and the processes used may not be broad enough in scope to find specific disease agents.

 

One solution may be next-generation sequencing (NGS). NGS enables clinicians to simultaneously sequence multiple strands of DNA found in patient samples and use that analysis to rapidly and accurately identify a single pathogen -- from among hundreds of suspects.

 

Researchers compared the pathogen detecting ability of an NGS system -- the Respiratory Pathogen Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Resistance Panel (RPIP) -- with a previously studied NGS system and standard of care (SOC) diagnostic methods for samples obtained with bronchoalveolar lavage. This is where a bronchoscope is passed through the mouth or nose into the lungs, followed by a fluid wash that is collected for examination.

 

The researchers believe their study is among the first to compare NGS and SOC diagnostics for respiratory pathogens.

 

In their study, researchers first evaluated the diagnostic ability of metagenomic NGS, a previously studied workflow process during which all DNA obtained from a bronchoalveolar lavage is sequenced -- including genetic material unique to the patient (the "host read" or "human read") and the sought-after pathogen (the "microbial read"). Removing the host DNA enable clinicians to concentrate their search on the remaining genetic material to hopefully find the microbial read and ultimately, identify the cause of the patient's illness.

 

In the second part of their experiment, the researchers assessed a different NGS approach using the RPIP system called targeted NGS. In this method, everything in the patient respiratory sample is sequenced as with metagenomic NGS, but capture probes -- tiny fragments of single-stranded DNA that correspond structurally to the DNA of specific pathogens -- are used to enhance the searching ability.

 

The researchers found that the effectiveness of both the metagenomic and targeted NGS varied with the type of organism sought. They report that both NGS methods successfully identified viruses, with herpes viruses the most readily detected. Results for bacteria and mycobacteria (which include the organism causing tuberculosis) approached the level of SOC diagnostics, but dropped off as the number of organisms decreased -- even with use of the capture probes in targeted NGS. Neither NGS method detected fungi well.

 

Overall, the researchers found that the RIPP targeted workflow agreed with traditional diagnostics 66 percent of the time.

 

Along with its potential to accurately identify more than 300 pathogenic organisms from a bronchoalveolar lavage, the researchers feel that targeted NGS also shows great promise for one day being able to reveal some 1,200 genetic markers in pathogens that indicate which organisms are most likely to resist antibiotics.

 

See:

 

David C. Gaston, Heather B. Miller, John A. Fissel, Emily Jacobs, Ethan Gough, Jiajun Wu, Eili Y. Klein, Karen C. Carroll, Patricia J. Simner. Evaluation of Metagenomic and Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing Workflows for Detection of Respiratory Pathogens from Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Specimens. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2022; 60 (7) DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00526-22

 

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)