iSOFT partners i-Path to add digital pathology to laboratory system

13 August 2010

iSOFT Group Limited (ASX: ISF) is to partner with Belfast-based i-Path Diagnostics to significantly boost its ability to deliver modern, web-based digital pathology solutions to its 150 pathology customers in the UK and the wider market.

i-Path’s web-based platform will be added as a module to iSOFT's existing laboratory product suite. The aim is to deliver the solution under a software-as-a-service model, giving customers the opportunity to access data when and where they need it and the option to scale the solution to meet the needs of their organisation.

The benefits of integrating digital pathology services into existing laboratory information systems include instant access to whole slide images and associated clinical data, the ability to digitally archive slides and the promotion of the role of the pathologist in multi-disciplinary team meetings.

i-Path’s core product PathXL, is an innovative web-based software platform that enables glass slides used by pathologists to be converted into digital files and then accessed and distributed via NHS N3 network or the internet. Applications of this technology, known as Virtual Microscopy, facilitate education, training and research in the medical, biological and pharmaceutical sectors and are also emerging as a secondary diagnostic reporting tool.

Adrian Stevens, Managing Director of iSOFT’s UK and Ireland business, said: “With a dominant market share, there is a huge opportunity here for iSOFT. The i-Path application will save customers time and money by eliminating the need to post glass slides and risk them being lost or broken.

“This is a hugely exciting opportunity. Over 150 customers attended the recent Laboratory User Convention held in Birmingham and had the opportunity to see i-Path solutions during a presentation made by Professor Peter Hamilton from Queen’s University Hospital, Belfast.”

Stuart Harvey, i-Path’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “i-Path is very enthusiastic about the opportunities the iSOFT relationship will bring to both companies, in terms of boosting both product development and market share. The collaborative relationship will see the development of a fully integrated lab software in which i-Path’s digital slide viewing technology will bring pathology data to life for the clinician.

"In partnering with i-Path, iSOFT is demonstrating a commitment to its customers to offer cutting edge digital pathology technology. Choosing i-Path as its partner is an indication of our credibility in the market as innovators and experts in this field.”

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