NORTHFIELD, Ill., July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ —
Today, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) will introduce
online imaging technology, DigitalScope, for use in its laboratory
proficiency testing (Surveys) programs in 2012 at the 2011 AACC
(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) Annual Meeting in
Atlanta, July 26-28. The first product to benefit from the
technology, Virtual Peripheral Blood Smear (VPBS), is scheduled to
ship on August 1, 2011.
“DigitalScope is a game-changing advancement in whole slide
imaging that radically enhances the CAP’s Surveys Program,” said
Charles Roussel, CAP Chief Executive Officer. “It delivers a user
experience that is as close as possible to real-life microscopy.
DigitalScope enables viewing slides on a computer the same way you
would view them on a microscope with advanced zoom, brightness and
contrast functions.”
The CAP Surveys Program is the world’s largest laboratory
peer-comparison program in which the CAP provides individual
laboratories with unknown specimens for testing. Participants
analyze the specimens and return the results for inter-laboratory
evaluation. In turn, each laboratory receives an individual
performance report and a summary report of the results of all
participating laboratories.
The CAP is partnering with Proficiency Testing Service (PTS),
which owns and developed DigitalScope, for use of the technology in
several Surveys in multiple laboratory disciplines, including:
- Anatomic Pathology
- Andrology
- Bacteriology
- Clinical Microscopy
- Cytology
- Hematology
- Microbiology
- Mycology
- Parasitology
Potential applications extend beyond proficiency testing to
include education.
“DigitalScope is similar to a ‘Google Earth’ for slides,” said
Nick Serafy, PTS President and Chief Executive Officer. “Scanned
whole slide images appear on a comput
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