NEWS
Digital pathology live across West Yorkshire
All six NHS Trusts within the West Yorkshire Pathology Network are now live on the NPIC digital pathology platform, after Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recently joined the other four NHS Trusts within the West Yorkshire area, (collectively known as the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts [WYAAT]) and have now gone live. This major milestone sees all pathology services across West Yorkshire benefit from the National Pathology Imaging Co- operative (NPIC) digital pathology platform. By working together as a partnership of hospital trusts, WYAAT is helping to address health inequalities for 2.7 million people who live across West Yorkshire and Harrogate, not to mention those patients that are referred to one of the NHS Trusts from outside of West Yorkshire. This national platform will not only
aid reducing waiting times and increase reliability of decisions but offer the ability for digital images to be extracted and anonymised for the purpose of research, training, and support testing of AI algorithms to help medical professionals make more efficient diagnoses. Bash Hussain – NPIC Director commented: “It’s been an exceptional achievement and I’m really proud of what the NPIC team has delivered working with NHS Trusts across West Yorkshire. I would also like to thank our partners, Leica Biosystems, Sectra and Exponential-E. The programme will continue to deliver digital pathology across our national portfolio of NHS Trusts, with further exciting updates throughout 2024.” Across West Yorkshire, the six Trusts deal with approximately 250,000 patient cases per annum generating approximately 850,000 digital images. This technology will enable over 90 consultant pathologists and a further 45 trainee consultants from across WYAAT to access pathology cases digitally.
New Synnovis hub laboratory processes first samples
Synnovis’ new state-of-the-art hub laboratory in Blackfriars Road, London, is now open for business, with the first samples processed at the beginning of April 2024. The new site is at the heart of a programme to deliver and transform pathology services in southeast London. One of the largest, purpose-built pathology laboratories in the UK, after a carefully phased, 12-month transition to the hub and spoke model, it will process around 70% of all pathology activity currently conducted by Synnovis, serving a patient population of almost two million. Once the transfer of services is complete, the hub will house infection, tissue and blood sciences, as well as reference chemistry and specialist services such as toxicology and immunology. Spanning 10 floors, the hub has been designed to meet the needs of modern- day healthcare services, delivering major benefits for clinicians, patients, those who work there and the NHS overall. By consolidating 89 laboratories into one hub and six hospital sites, 6,000 square metres of NHS real estate – the equivalent of
more than 150 operating theatres – will be released for use by Synnovis’ partners for other important patient services. Dr Tracy Ellison, Managing Director, Synnovis, commented: “Tens of millions of pounds have been invested into transforming services and on the hub building to date, creating an inspiring environment packed full of cutting-edge instrumentation, equipment and examples of innovation. We are moving ever nearer to realising our vision of delivering a facility that will be looked on internationally as a pathology centre of excellence, bringing major benefits to our people, our NHS partners and the patients we serve.”
Research identifies MS endophenotypes
In a transformative study an international team of researchers, led by the University of Münster and Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Münster, Germany, in collaboration with the German Competence Network Multiple Sclerosis (KKNMS), has made a significant breakthrough in the understanding and potential treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Their findings, published in the
journal Science Translational Medicine, reveal the identification of three distinct immunological endophenotypes of MS, defined by specific blood immune signatures associated with different disease trajectories. This discovery opens new avenues for personalised treatment strategies, addressing the long-standing challenge of individualised treatment selection in MS therapy. Traditional approaches to MS treatment have often been a one-size-fits-all solution, not taking into account the underlying distinct immunopathology prevailing in each patient. The study, which analysed data from
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over 500 early MS patients across two independent cohorts, utilised high- dimensional flow cytometry and serum proteomics to map the immune system’s complexity in unprecedented detail. The researchers’ sophisticated analysis identified three distinct immunological endophenotypes, each associated with specific disease pathways and responses to treatment.
The endophenotypes, named based on their primary characteristics – ‘inflammatory’, ‘degenerative’, and a third yet to be fully characterised – distinct responses to common MS treatments. Notably, patients within the ‘inflammatory’ endophenotype showed limited benefit from interferon- beta treatment, suggesting that alternative therapies might be more effective. n Gross CC, Schulte-Mecklenbeck A, Steinberg OV, et al. Multiple sclerosis endophenotypes identified by high- dimensional blood signatures are associated with distinct disease trajectories. Sci Transl Med. 2024;16(740):eade8560. doi:10.1126/
scitranslmed.ade8560
MAY 2024
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