This webinar will highlight the benefits of the integration between Aperio’s eSlide Manager and Definiens Tissue Studio. Dr. Hartmann will introduce Definiens Tissue Studio and demonstrate functionality supporting the automated analysis of in situ hybridization assays, including SISH, CISH, and dual-ISH.

The webinar will be rescheduled and the new date will be announced shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Definiens Tissue Studio Now Supports the Detection of Spot-like Signals from In Situ Hybridization Assays

Munich, Germany, May 10, 2012 — Definiens®, the leading provider of image analysis and data mining solutions for quantitative digital pathology, today announced that Definiens Tissue Studio® 3.5 now supports the automated analysis of in situ hybridization assays, including SISH, CISH, FISH and dual-ISH. The unique combination of flexibility and ease-of-use that characterizes Definiens Tissue Studio® significantly facilitates the detection of spot-like signals originating from gene probes (or any other stain with spot-like appearance) on a cell-by-cell basis. Definiens Tissue Studio® supports the detection of gene probe signals in both brightfield and immunofluorescene imaging. Read More…

The Digital Pathology Association (DPA) in partnership with the Association of Pathology Informatics and CAP Today will host a series of four, one-hour webinars in 2012 focusing on the barriers to adoption of digital pathology. The topics to be addressed during the webinars include: a cultural and strategic perspective, regulatory issues, financial aspects of deployment, and technical considerations. Read More…

Munich, Germany, April 30, 2012 — Definiens®, the leading provider of image analysis and data mining solutions for quantitative digital pathology, announced today it has been selected as a Finalist for Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe award, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the European business region.

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Attend the upcoming webinars in our “Quantitative Digital Pathology Made Easy” series. This Thursday, Mark Lloyd from the Moffitt Cancer Center will present his exciting research into how single-cell features elucidate spatially heterogeneous morphotypes in histological tissue sections. Next week, Martin Baatz from Definiens will emphasize that automated image analysis yields substantial productivity gains for pre-clinical safety studies.

We would be delighted to welcome you on the webinars and to answer your questions.

Best regards,
The Definiens team

Single-Cell Features Elucidate Spatially Heterogeneous Morphotypes in Histological Tissue Sections
(Mark Lloyd, Moffitt Cancer Center, April 26, 11am EDT/8am PST/5pm CEST)

Automated Image Analysis in Pre-clinical Safety Studies: Increasing Productivity and Delivering Significant Return on Investment
(Martin Baatz, May 2, 11am EDT/8am PST/5pm CEST)

Visit http://info.definiens.com/01QuantitiatveDigitalPathologyOutoftheBox_WebinarPage.html to register.

Program features latest trends in quantitative digital pathology and tissue-based biomarker development with leading experts from Roche, AstraZeneca, Novartis and cutting-edge biomedical image and data analysis during hands-on workshops

Munich, Germany, April 19, 2012 — Definiens®, the global leader of image and data analysis solutions for quantitative digital pathology, invites professionals interested in pathology and biomarker development to the 3rd International Definiens Symposium. The symposium will be held at the Definiens headquarters in Munich from June 14-16, 2012.

The annual event is the premier forum for the latest trends in quantitative research in histology, tissue-based biomarker development and cutting-edge biomedical image and data analysis. It brings together experts from around the world to share best practices and experiences. This year’s keynote lecture will be delivered by Dr. Frauke Bentzien from Exelixis, one of the pioneers in quantitative digital pathology who has been successfully applying this new paradigm in preclinical safety studies and clinical trials for many years.

The Definiens Symposium offers attendees the opportunity to network with peers and renowned experts and learn from their approaches and experiences. A one-day pre-conference workshop will provide hands-on experiences and training on the latest Definiens solutions for image analysis and data mining.

Nobel Laureate Prof. Gerd Binnig, Founder and CTO Definiens, will share his vision for the next generation of pathology tools, while leading experts from Roche, AstraZeneca, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson, as well as practitioners from other renowned institutions, will contribute insights from their work. To find the full speaker panel and the workshop program, visit http://www.definiens.com/community/symposium.html.

“We are delighted to have such a distinguished group of speakers,” stated Thomas Heydler, CEO of Definiens. “The digital pathology market is  quickly transitioning into a second phase of adoption where quantitative approaches  allow us to unveil the real value of digital slides and are currently transforming pathology into a quantitative discipline. By bringing together thought leaders, experts and users, the International Definiens Symposium provides a very stimulating forum for learning about the future of this exciting field.”

Previous International Definiens Symposia were held at the Spanish Cardiovascular Research Center in Madrid in 2010 and the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL in 2011. The symposia  received excellent feedback from participants. “I thought the conference was outstanding! The quality of the speakers and the visionary spirit combined with the demonstration of exciting achievements at the forefront of quantitative pathology were very inspiring,” said Prof. Manfred Dietel from the Institute of Pathology at the Charité Berlin.

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Susan Young wrote a post on technology review on a lecture held last Thursday at the 2012 TEDMED conference by Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society. Here’s an interesting passage (click here to read the full article):

“Pathologists still use drawings made in 1840 to determine whether the cells in a biopsy are cancerous or not, said Brawley. When a lump is deemed to be cancerous, surgery often follows. But as many as 25% of breast cancers and, by some estimates, 60% of prostate cancers could be left untreated and merely monitored, he said.

Brawley said the medical community needs to use genomic sequencing to identify the genetic signals of those cancers that doctors need to watch and those that need to be treated. This could be achieved by sequencing tumors from different cancer patients and looking for a genetic “profile” that is associated with dangerous, stable, or benign cancers.”

While it seems like a good idea to go beyond drawings made in 1840 it remains to be seen if genomic sequencing alone will do much better. Tumors have been looked at to evaluate whether they are dangerous, stable or benign because tissue morphology contains very relevant information.

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The annual event is the premier forum for anyone interested in latest trends in Quantitative Digital Pathology, tissue-based biomarker development and cutting-edge biomedical image and data analysis with Definiens.

Register now to secure early bird registration fee. Regular registration will be open until May 15.

Visit http://www.definiens.com/community/symposium.html to learn more or click here to see recordings of presentations held at the 2011 event at the Moffitt Cancer Center.

Keith Kaplan recommends an interesting book on the digital pathology blog. Click here to read his post or see below.

Last month ASCP Press published a new book on pathology informatics, the first multi-authored textbook on the subject geared towards a comprehensive review of the field of pathology informatics.  Drs. Pantanowitz (UPMC), Weinstein (U of Arizona) and myself have a chapter devoted to telepathology and whole slide imaging.  A must read (at a great price) for resident or practicing pathologist alike as well as anyone with interests in the diverse nature of pathology informatics for practical management, operations, budgeting and project planning.

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Visit our YouTube channel to watch Definiens’ new corporate video:

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The program of the 3rd International Definiens Symposium, June 14-16, in Munich is approaching its final shape and we are very happy about the line-up of very interesting speakers.

Register now to secure your early bird discount (until April 15).

The 3rd International Definiens Symposium 2012 in Munich will take place at Definiens’ headquarters in the Arnulfpark, Munich and the close-by Ernst & Young Auditorium. Join us to learn more about recent developments in Quantitative Digital Pathology and cutting-edge biomedical image and data analysis. You will hear about groundbreaking research and exchange experiences with other Definiens users. In addition to our dynamic plenary sessions and fruitful networking breaks, this year we will be adding extensive hands-on workshops to our lineup.

Click here to see recordings of last year’s meeting at the Moffitt Cancer Center, FL.

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Quantitative Digital Pathology Out-of-the-Box: Definiens Tissue Studio Combines Flexibility and Ease-of Use with High Productivity

Get an introduction to the straigthforward configuration of image analysis solutions with Definiens Tissue Studio. With no more than a few clicks, you can assemble a solution that is adjusted to the specific properties of your tissue sample and that provides you with the quantitative readouts you require. Per region of interest. Per cell. Per cell compartment. Definiens Tissue Studio readily analyzes images from any solid tissue, stained with IHC, H&E or IF. Register now.

Date: Thursday, March 29
Time: 4 pm CEST / 10am EDT / 7am PST
Speaker: Daniela Längin, Definiens

Amy Abernethy from the Age of Personalized Medicine wrote an insightful note on the importance of understanding the complexities of cancer for progress in personalized medicine. She comments on an article in the March 8 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, and concludes that

“the authors of “Intratumor Heterogeneity and Branched Evolution Revealed by Multiregion Sequencing” provide an exquisite roadmap of how heterogeneous and complex one individual’s cancer can be with many mutations lurking within each tumor mass, and the mutations themselves evolving over time.”

She discusses some of the challenges for personalized treatment resulting from this heterogeneity and the value of biopsies:

“While a single needle biopsy may not create a complete picture of a cancer, biopsies are still a crucial part of characterizing tumors, using growing scientific knowledge to understand which treatments might work best. Biopsies are a starting point. A number of institutions are conducting genetic and genomic analyses on tumors. This is probably not the Holy Grail, but rather an iterative step in a long trail of scientific advances that will support personalization of cancer medicine. In addition, new technologies are needed to improve on the information gathered, including methods to understand whole tumor heterogeneity.”

I agree. Genomic analyses are certainly very valuable and multiregion sequencing will help revealing intratumor heterogeneity. I also agree that genomic analyses are probably not the Holy Grail. I believe that the new technologies needed to improve on the information gathered may well include sophisticated image analysis. Tumor heterogeneity is well apparent in tissue morphology and can be studied to reveal contributions of morphologically distinct cell populations (attend a free upcoming webinar held by Mark Lloyd, Moffitt Cancer Center, for a stunning example). Image analysis can also be used to enhance the accuracy of multiregion sequencing – if regions to be sequenced are selected based on tissue morphology.
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Definiens enjoyed lively disucussions with attendees of USCAP 2012. We’re happy about the strong interest in our image and data analysis solutions for quantitative digital pathology. Thank you!

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Our partner OracleBio, a UK-based image analysis service provider with Definiens Tissue Studio capabilities, met Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Anne as part of a royal visit to Scotland in February of this year. The Princess Royal’s visit formed part of the naming of a new state of the art bio-incubator facility called ‘Biocity Scotland’ with OracleBio being one of the first tenants. During the visit, Princess Anne was introduced to Definiens software by Dr Lorcan Sherry and was given a live demonstration of Tissue Studio’s capabilities.