The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 is setting up a fully automated digital pathology lab as the first hospital in the region to implement the most advanced technology worldwide in the pathology field.

“The acquisition of this unique type of technology confirms the hospital’s commitment to excellence and leadership, adapting technology to treat children and reduce their suffering’, said Dr. Habiba El- Fendy, vice pathology lab manager at Children’s cancer hospital Egypt 57357.

“ For the first time same-day diagnosis has been made possible through the new technology offered by the full digital pathology lab at CCHE57357”, says Dr. Hala Taha, Head of the pathology lab, explaining one of the many advantages of the digital lab .

Now a pathologist can give a precise medical opinion about a patient’s case within a single day instead of waiting for two weeks which contributes to an early medical intervention.

Technical progress brought by the computerized lab is addressing many challenges. The digital imaging technique scans the conventional glass slides and converts them into digital slides; as such, the chance of misreading the biopsy and the occurrence of human errors is reduced as the images will be stored digitally, without human interference. Furthermore, the scanned images would help the hospital to establish a database, storing patient’s biopsy data for diagnostics and research needs. The significant contribution of the digital lab is the way it is boosting the throughput, for instance, a pathologist may have the opportunity to look at the scanned image distantly on computer work stations and mobile phones providing rapid diagnosis for urgent cases and in the event of complicated biopsies, requiring  another expert judgment and interdisciplinary cooperation.

The innovative digital practice has involved the acquisition of a liquid-based cytology machine, the first fully automated of its kind in Egypt, that offers stabilizing vials for biopsy gathering, and most outstandingly being the least invasive procedure to the patient.

“We aim at revolutionizing the personalized treatment protocol offered for each patient”, explained Dr. Akram Nouh, pathology consultant at CCHE57357. In this respect, the digital lab has allowed the integral work with the molecular pathology lab giving an insight into the tumor cell biology and serving in personalizing the recommended treatment plan tailored for each patient; accordingly, improving chances of treatment success and survival.

It is noteworthy that the recently acquired lab along with the group of qualified pathology professionals operating it would facilitate the propagation of global cooperative research projects.

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