Summary

Indica Labs has been selected by the Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology at the University of Bern to deploy its HALO AP digital pathology platform in the cloud, powered by AWS, marking the first such deployment in Switzerland.

Takeaways

  1. Innovative Deployment: The University of Bern’s Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology is the first in Switzerland to deploy a digital pathology platform in the cloud, facilitated by Indica Labs’ HALO AP and AWS.
  2. Enhanced Workflows: HALO AP transforms pathology workflows by providing comprehensive, interoperable tools for efficient and accurate diagnostics and collaboration.
  3. Regulatory Milestone: The deployment received approval from Bern Canton’s data privacy office, allowing the secure handling of encrypted patient data in the AWS Zurich region.

Indica Labs, a provider of AI-powered digital pathology, announced that the Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology at the University of Bern, a university-based pathology institute in Switzerland, has selected HALO AP for the Institute’s first-in-country digital pathology deployment in the cloud powered by Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS). The Institute said it selected Indica Labs for its ability to provide dependable, pathologist-centered software and AI in a powerful and highly flexible platform.

Digital Pathology Transforms Workflows

HALO AP, an enterprise digital pathology platform from Indica Labs, transforms the way pathologists and researchers work. To address the complex needs of modern pathology laboratories, HALO AP features a comprehensive suite of tools and workflows for efficient and accurate image analysis, diagnostics, and collaboration. The platform is highly interoperable and works with most scanners and file formats. Users can adapt their deployment to meet their needs with both cloud and on-premise deployment options and are free to incorporate their existing laboratory equipment with ease, allowing them to customize their environment for the practice of pathology.

“The implementation of HALO AP for digital tissue medicine at the University of Bern represents a major step towards streamlining diagnostic workflows and preparing for a future with AI-enabled pathology,” says Prof. Dr. Aurel Perren of the Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology at the University of Bern. “We anticipate that deploying digital pathology in a secure AWS environment tailored to our institute’s needs will positively impact turnaround time, diagnostic quality and will ultimately contribute to improving patient care.”

Digital Pathology Solution Receives Clearance by Data Privacy Office

With the professional consulting support of AWS partner foresite AG (www.foresite.ch) for requirements analysis as well as the creation, submission and follow-up of all documents for the data protection officer, the Institute has achieved a significant milestone by being the first public health institution in Switzerland to receive local authority approval to utilize AWS for the public cloud management of personal healthcare data in diagnostics. This first-in-country approval by Bern Canton’s data privacy office allows the Institute to store encrypted patient data in AWS Zurich region. Cloud technology is highly scalable, cost-effective, and has built-in security and flexibility which is particularly well-suited for evolving needs in digital pathology. To facilitate a smooth implementation of and transition to the new digital pathology platform, the Institute will be working closely with the Cloud Services team from Indica Labs. This collaborative effort will optimize the integration of the new platform with the Institute’s existing systems and workflows, maximizing the benefit physicians and patients experience from the cloud-based solution.

“We are thrilled to work with the Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology at the University of Bern,” says Eric Runde, COO of Indica Labs. “This partnership will create a truly bench-to-bedside approach to pathology that will improve patient care and diagnostic efficiency. By utilizing our Cloud Services team for this deployment, the Institute will have a truly scalable digital pathology solution with the support they need to run an efficient and patient-centered service.”

HALO AP is CE-IVDR marked for in-vitro diagnostic use in Europe, the UK, and Switzerland. HALO AP is For Research Use Only in the USA and is not FDA cleared for clinical diagnostic use. In addition, HALO AP® provides built-in compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Featured Image: The HALO AP user interface localized in German shows a breast case with gross specimen information and patient data in the right-hand panel. Image: Indica Labs