Hamamatsu and Indica Labs offer integrated digital pathology workflow solution

19 Oct 2022

Interoperability of Hamamatsu’s Nanozoomer and Indica’s Halo systems to drive “adoption of digital pathology.”

Indica Labs, a developer of quantitative digital pathology and image management solutions, and Hamamatsu Photonics, which manufactures whole slide imaging systems, have announced an agreement to maintain long-term interoperability between Indica’s Halo AP software platform and Hamamatsu’s NanoZoomer range of high-speed, high-resolution scanners.

Indica Labs’ browser-based Halo AP software is said to offer “case-centric digital pathology slide management, collaboration, and AI-powered quantitative image analysis to anatomic pathology labs”. Indica adds that the package is “scanner agnostic and integrates with a variety of third-party software applications, including AI solutions and LIS/LIMS platforms.”

Hamamatsu’s NanoZoomer scanners are known for image quality, reliability, and ease of use, the company stated. “When coupled with our dedication to customer service, NanoZoomer users experience the best combination of robust performance and personalized support,” it added.

Integration challenge

As pathology laboratories adopt digital solutions, the challenge for laboratory managers is to integrate an array of hardware and software and achieve maximum efficiency. This collaboration between Indica Labs and Hamamatsu is intended to streamline this process.

Don Ariyakumar, NanoZoomer Product Manager at Hamamatsu, said, “Providing interoperability and scalable solutions is critical to the adoption of digital pathology. The option to implement the most appropriate hardware and software for their specific needs increases the value of digital pathology for all stakeholders.”

The collaboration with Hamamatsu’s technical capabilities will facilitate Indica’s approach to regulatory clearances utilizing its HALO AP system in conjunction with the NanoZoomer S360MD for primary diagnosis. The partners say that ongoing technical performance assessments to verify that Hamamatsu’s image format is accurately displayed in all Indica Labs’ viewers will ensure continued interoperability of Indica Labs and Hamamatsu products and will help drive the adoption of these technologies within the pathology community.

Indica Labs’ CEO, Steven Hashagen commented “This agreement is an important reassurance to our mutual customers that both companies are committed to working together on technical, regulatory, and commercial fronts. It ensures we can achieve image fidelity and interoperability across our viewing and analysis software, allows us to align our regulatory submissions, and facilitates sales and support cooperation for our mutual customers as we have demonstrated in the past,” he said.

UK installation announced

The longstanding relationship between Indica Labs and Hamamatsu resulted in last year’s win of significant digital pathology tenders in the United Kingdom, most notably at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust [click here for case study].

NUH is the third largest NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, serving over 2.5 million patients, and generating 340,000 pathology slides per year. The goal of the NUH implementation is full digitization of the pathology workflow.

Hamamatsu at Optatec 2022

Hamamatsu this week exhibited at Optatec, the Frankfurt, Germany based trade fair for photonics systems specifically for development, production, and industrial applications.