Proscia’s cloud-based platform allows clinicians, hospitals to make faster and more accurate cancer diagnosis

Jul 1 2015

Global collaboration on pathology consultations help clinicians and hospitals fight cancer worldwide with cloud-delivered software hosted on AWS

Proscia, a cloud-delivered solutions provider for digital pathology, today announced the release of a series of new features including Proscia Connect. Proscia Connect creates a global pathology ecosystem, running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), which facilitates collaboration and the review of information and pathology reports among clinicians, hospitals, and pathology experts for faster and more accurate cancer diagnosis.

This cloud-based telepathology software is the first of its kind to create a real-time hub for pathology consultations, second-opinions, and diagnosis validation, and serves as a valuable educational resource. With Proscia Connect, pathology specialists can quickly and securely review cases sourced from locations around the world; this is critical in areas where patients have limited or no access to quality diagnoses and second opinions.

Proscia Connect offers:

• Live, multi-user screen sharing for slide review
• Replacement of multi-head microscopes
• In-browser, cloud-deployed use, with no on-premise software installation
• Centrally accessible slide annotations and case data
• International voice and text chat

For clinicians who diagnose, prevent, and treat cancer, having the opinion of multiple pathologists is critical. For example, dysplasia in the setting of Barrett’s esophagus can be a precursor to cancer, and is often over or misdiagnosed.  “Studies have shown that dysplasia in the setting of Barrett’s esophagus can be misdiagnosed upwards of 65% by general pathologists,” stated Dr. Daniel Quirk, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital,  “Therefore, prior to initiating treatment, we require a second opinion from an expert pathologist.” Proscia Connect makes it possible for multiple pathologists to provide remote second opinions from anywhere in the world.

In addition to Proscia Connect, the company released a series of enhancements to its cloud-based platform including:

• A clinical workflow stream that provides whole-slide image queuing and case review management
• Platform API for third-party integrations such as tissue analytics software, Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, and whole-slide scanner systems.
• Shared data repositories that enable client institutions to house secure images, with access rights for use within a hospital network or between institutions.

With Proscia Connect hosted on AWS, the company’s global pathology ecosystem benefits from the inherent security of the AWS Cloud. Architected for flexibility and security, the AWS Cloud infrastructure provides an extremely scalable, highly reliable platform that enables customers to deploy applications and data quickly and securely. Clinicians and pathologists using Proscia Connect can securely access their work anywhere around the globe, any time they have an Internet connection.

“Proscia’s use of AWS to deliver a cloud-based digital pathology platform enables clinicians to securely access data whenever necessary, anywhere in the world; this is a great example of pioneering use of the AWS Cloud,” said Steve Halliwell, Director, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "The security and privacy of customer data are foundational principles at AWS. We are continuously innovating to equip customers with the infrastructure they need to meet evolving security and compliance requirements across our global footprint.”