Optiscan\u2019s platform could help with shortage of pathologists in Australia and globally
\nPlatform particularly useful in diagnosing malignant tumours and pre-cancerous lesions in surgery
\nOptiscan seeking US FDA De Novo clearance for its InVivage product intended for oral cancer imaging<\/p>\n
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Special Report:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0An ASX biotech company could help alleviate concerns about a growing shortage of pathologists in Australia and internationally delaying medical test results, including for serious diseases such as cancer. <\/strong><\/p>\n Concerns about a shortage of pathologists has hit the headlines in Australia with Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia CEO Dr Debra Graves<\/a> saying there are \u201ctoo few pathologists to do the work that needs to be done\u201d.<\/p>\n Optiscan (ASX:OIL)<\/strong><\/a> is pioneering new standards of care in digital pathology and precision surgery, developing, field testing and perfecting its single fibre-optic miniaturised confocal endomicroscope for the past two decades.<\/p>\n CEO and managing director Dr Camile Farah, a trained clinician and pathologist who has been leading the company for the last two years, says the OIL platform could help reduce the bottleneck in pathology testing.<\/p>\n \u201cOur real-time digital pathology platform has been developed to work in a dynamic fashion, similar to what radiologists have been using in teleradiology for the last couple of decades,\u201d Farah says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hardware and software solutions will allow pathologists to receive digital images from clinicians and surgeons in real-time, streamlining their workflow and allowing them to get through their caseload in a much faster manner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur digital solutions, including our telepathology portal and AI algorithms, will allow clinicians and pathologists to triage lesions and surgical resections, and free up pathologists to concentrate on difficult cases.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Farah says to address shortfalls in pathologists and improve workflows, the sector will need to embrace clinically validated digital technology such as that developed by OIL.<\/p>\n He says the OIL platform proves especially beneficial for intraoperative pathology, aiding in the diagnosis and removal of malignant tumours and pre-cancerous lesions during surgeries.<\/p>\n He says the technology empowers surgeons and pathologists to collaborate instantly, ensuring precise tumour removal without waiting for lab results or complicated procedures like frozen sections.<\/p>\n \u201cConsequently, this minimises the need for additional surgeries and testing, and also frees up more of the pathologists\u2019 time,\u201d Farah says.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing real-time scanning, our probe captures detailed 3D imaging at the microscopic level, providing immediate information for on-the-spot diagnosis and enabling informed decisions during surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA pathologist can turn to a surgeon and say \u2018I have examined the whole tumour for you on-the-spot\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in the UK there are concerns that challenges in obtaining appointments with NHS dentists might have contributed to a rise in deaths related to mouth cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Oral Health Foundation says mouth cancers led to the death of more than 3,000 individuals in the UK in 2021 \u2013 a 46% increase from 2,075 deaths reported a decade earlier.<\/p>\n OIL is currently seeking US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) De Novo clearance for its first-in-class InVivage product which is an intra-oral digital microscope intended for oral cancer imaging, after earlier this year getting feedback from the FDA.<\/p>\n The FDA told OIL that due to the first-in-class nature of InVivage and novelty of its intended use, it could not evaluate substantial equivalence of its device\/drug combination product due to the absence of a predicate.<\/p>\n Farah and his colleagues recently published a paper showing OIL technology can be used for on-the-fly diagnosis of oral cancer and precancer.<\/a><\/p>\n The work was published in the prestigious Journal of Oral<\/em> Pathology and Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Equally, researchers at the University of Melbourne have shown that the InVivage can be used to detect a whole myriad of mouth lesions<\/a> including cancer and precancer, work they have published in Frontiers in Oncology.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe Optiscan platform is a slide-free optical biopsy system that allows clinicians and pathologists to diagnose cancer and precancerous pathology in real-time,\u201d Farah says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt saves the patient time and anxiety in getting a diagnosis from the clinician on the spot and streamlines the pathology workflow.\u201d<\/p>\n Farah says once FDA clearance for the device is granted, Optiscan will roll out the technology in the US.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have received significant interest for our oral imaging device because of its ability to generate microscopic images of oral tissues in real-time, and the potential for it to be used as non-invasive oral cancer screening platform,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n OIL is also working towards other FDA De Novo applications for use of its technology in other clinical procedures including breast surgery and colorectal imaging.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Farah says OIL is accelerating the path to market, developing multiple hardware and software combinations and running parallel studies for new FDA submissions.<\/p>\n Farah says there is broad appeal for their technology from:<\/p>\n Doctors and dental clinics for oral cancer diagnosis \u201cThe global pathology laboratories market size accounted for $325 billion in 2022 and is estimated to hit around $715 billion in 2032,\u201d Farah says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of this relies on traditional glass-based analogue and labour-intensive procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n Farah says OIL\u2019s digital solution removes the need for tissue biopsy, sample collection, specimen processing, and delays in getting glass slides to pathologists.<\/p>\n \u201cOur digital platforms re-imagine the pathology workflow, spreading that between clinician and pathologist, and saving pathology laboratories billions of dollars in consumable and labour costs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s only a matter of time before digital pathology will replace the glass slide.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This article was developed in collaboration with Optiscan, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. <\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Optiscan\u2019s platform could address global pathologist shortage<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benefits in intraoperative pathology<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Improving diagnosis of oral cancer <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018Digital pathology will replace the glass slide\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nOperating theatres for intraoperative surgical assessment
\nEndoscopy suites for monitoring chronic conditions such as Crohn\u2019s disease
\nPathology lab looking to modernise current analogue procedures<\/p>\n