Here’s how Digital Pathology is shaping the Future of Healthcare
Digital pathology is gaining immense momentum worldwide, attributing mainly to the mounting prevalence of both Communicable & Non-Communicable disease
The advent of digital technologies into the healthcare sector has indeed resulted in an improved overall speed & efficiency and a reduction in human errors. In recent years, these developments have got integrated with pathology applications. Digital pathology, which includes the acquisition, management, sharing, and interpretation of pathology-related information (slides & data) in a digital environment, has aided laboratories in attaining increased efficiency & productivity.
Digital pathology is gaining immense momentum worldwide, attributing mainly to the mounting prevalence of both Communicable & Non-Communicable diseases (NCDs). The surging need in the healthcare sector to reduce lab costs, improve operational effectiveness, boost productivity, and extend treatment choices & patient care is also contributing to the growing popularity of digital pathology solutions. As a result, a recent research study published by MarkNtel Advisors has projected around 14% CAGR for the Global Digital Pathology Market during 2022-27.
The market is well-steered by advances in healthcare technologies and massive investments alongside a rapid surge in the geriatric population. Due to the growing frequency of heart illnesses, including CVDs (cardiovascular diseases), improved diagnostic & imaging options are of utmost importance. Moreover, an upward trend of NCD instances, i.e., driven mainly by the growing population & tobacco consumption along with sedentary lifestyles, is another prominent aspect projected to generate profitable prospects for the adoption of digital pathology solutions for easy & quick diagnosis of diseases.
From Just Being about Tissue/Scans to Enhancing Quality & Productivity
Significant developments in radiology have been the prime reason behind the emergence of digital pathology solutions, which provide outstanding results not easy to achieve through glass slides alone. Whole-slide imaging is one such method that offers several advantages over traditional light microscopes and promises a profitable opportunity for the healthcare industry, especially for cancer & other complex diseases. Nevertheless, below cited are the key advantages that digital pathology solutions can offer:
- Enhanced Analysis with Reduced Errors & Improved Views
Digital pathology exhibits algorithms for analyzing slides that are objective, accurate, & quicker than microscopy, coupled with instant access to prior cases and superior data Storage for long-term predictive analytics. Moreover, these solutions involve the use of barcodes that aid in minimizing the risks of data misidentification. Besides, digital pathology provides live zoomed & multiple angle views, team annotation of slides, and a dashboard view of data & annotations.
- Superior Workflow & Turnaround Times and Cost-Effectiveness
Besides the benefits stated above, digital pathology further promotes collaborations, automation, flexible work schedules, remote access, & streamlined workflow while offering rapid access to archived slides & samples and instant data matching & organizing. In addition, digital pathology solutions are cost-effective as they eliminate the need for courier services & overtime work and reduce the travel costs incurred by peer reviews.
What’s Upcoming in the Digital Pathology Industry?
Numerous biopharma companies & CROs (Clinical Research Organizations) are utilizing digital pathology solutions to reduce expenses, free-up resources, automate workflows, and streamline drug development processes in discovery, pre-clinical, & clinical trials.
Moreover, there's an increasing need for digital pathology solutions with advanced image capturing and pattern recognition in order to morphologically determine relevant tissue types & individual cellular compartments while also quantifying the IHC intensity of staining.
As a result, digital pathology is rapidly replacing conventional methods of interpreting data on glass slides under a microscope and holds immense potential to reshape the future of healthcare services. Benefits like adaptability, precision, speedy outcomes, and the possibility to supply informatics & image analysis tools that are constantly improving are likely to encourage the adoption of these solutions and, in turn, boost the Global Digital Pathology Market in the years to come.