Category Archives: News

News

Prof. Stephen Fox to speak at Pathology Horizons 2019

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We are delighted to welcome Professor Stephen Fox on to the panel of speakers for Pathology Horizons 2019. Stephen is the Director of Pathology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia and Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

He holds Honours degree and Medical degrees from the University of Bristol, UK and a DPhil in Medicine from the University of Oxford. He has Fellowships of both the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia (RCPA) and UK and is also a Founding Fellow of the Faculty of Science (RCPA). He is an NHMRC Practioner Fellow and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. His current focus is development of diagnostic predictive markers of response to therapies in several tumour types using protein and DNA-based assays.

Prof. Stephen Fox will present on ctDNA testing for cancer at Pathology Horizons 2019. Further information on this talk will be announced in the coming weeks.

Pathology Horizons 2019

Pathology Horizons is an annual and open CPD conference organised by Cirdan to discuss what developments lie ahead in Pathology and what we can do to prepare or take advantage of these. This year the conference will take place in the exquisite Heritage Hotel Queenstown, New Zealand. The vistas from Heritage Queenstown are awe-inspiring – soak in the view of the towering Remarkables mountain range, rising from the rippling waters of Lake Wakatipu from the comfort of the hotel. Crafted from centuries-old schist stone and cedar, this comfortable and sophisticated Queenstown hotel is the perfect place to mix business and pleasure.

Heritage Hotel Queenstown, New Zealand.

Early Bird Registration

Early Bird registration opens next week, however you can register here to receive advanced notification and purchase tickets two days before registration officially opens.

Be part of the discussion on the future of pathology! 

News

Grahame Grieve to talk Interoperability at Pathology Horizons 2019

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We are delighted to announce that Grahame Grieve from Health Intersections Pty Ltd, Australia will speak on the topic of interoperability at Pathology Horizons 2019.

Grahame Grieve is HL7’s Product Director for “FHIR” – the leading healthcare data exchange standard of the future. Grahame has a background in laboratory medicine, software vendor development, clinical research, open source development and has also conceived, developed and sold interoperability and clinical document solutions and products in the Australian market and around the world. Grahame has worked to develop standards and solutions with several US vendor consortiums, and the national programs of Canada, England, Singapore, Vietnam, and Australia.

Pathology Horizons 2019

Pathology Horizons is an annual and open CPD conference organised by Cirdan to discuss what developments lie ahead in Pathology and what we can do to prepare or take advantage of these.

This year the conference will take place in the exquisite Heritage Hotel Queenstown, New Zealand. The vistas from Heritage Queenstown are awe-inspiring – soak in the view of the towering Remarkables mountain range, rising from the rippling waters of Lake Wakatipu from the comfort of the hotel. Crafted from centuries-old schist stone and cedar, this comfortable and sophisticated Queenstown hotel is the perfect place to mix business and pleasure.

If you would like to be notified when Pathology Horizons 2019 registration opens, please click here.

News

Application of liquid biopsy to the detection and treatment of ovarian cancer

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Dr. Niamh Buckley of Queen’s University Belfast delivered an insightful presentation into the ongoing research conducted by the Professor and her team at QUB. The presentation which took place at the Pathology Horizons conference on Friday 14th September in N. Ireland, highlights how liquid biopsies are an emerging tool to allow the study of biomarkers in bodily fluids, including blood, urine and saliva. This limitless resource allows key biological information to be obtained about the specific disease in a minimally invasive manner.  In the context of cancer, liquid biopsies can be used to screen and/or diagnose patients with cancer as well as to stratify patients based on prognosis or predicted drug response.  Together this allows for a personalised medicine approach to be used to tailor management and/or treatment options based on specific knowledge of the underlying biology of the disease.

The presentation briefly touches on what liquid biopsies are, an introduction to ovarian cancer, as well as the strategy they have employed at Queen’s University to address and try to identify some novel liquid biopsy options. It concludes with where they are in trying to make this research a reality.

To view the full presentation, email a request to marketing@cirdan.com

Pathology Horizons 2019

Pathology Horizons is an annual and open CPD conference organised by Cirdan to discuss what developments lie ahead in Pathology and what we can do to prepare or take advantage of these.

This year the conference will take place in
the exquisite Heritage Hotel Queenstown, New Zealand. Queenstown  is one of the great alpine regions of the world and the charming Heritage Queenstown Hotel calls this place home – the resort offers a hotel experience certain to leave you breathless. The vistas from Heritage Queenstown are awe-inspiring – soak in the view of the towering Remarkables mountain range, rising from the rippling waters of Lake Wakatipu from the comfort of the hotel. Crafted from centuries-old schist stone and cedar, this comfortable and sophisticated Queenstown hotel is the perfect place to mix business and pleasure.

Learn more about Pathology Horizons.

News

Opportunities outweigh the challenges of radiology and pathology integration

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Dr. W. Dean Wallace is a Professor of Pathology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California.  Dr. Wallace is the Chief of Pulmonary and Renal Pathology Services and is recognized as an expert in the fields of transplant pathology and lung cancer diagnostics.

Dr. Wallace is also the Director of the UCLA Telepathology and Digital Pathology Center and co-led the team that created the innovative, first of its kind, Integrated Diagnostic Report (IDR) that combines multiple radiology and pathology studies into one dynamic reporting platform.  Dr. Wallace has authored several dozen peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and was lead editor of a textbook in the field of transplant pathology.


Short interview with Dr. Dean Wallace, UCLA, USA at the Pathology Horizons 2018 conference. Dr. Wallace discusses his views on what the future holds for radiology and pathology integration along with the challenges that lie ahead in this area.

If you would like to like to watch Dean Wallace’s full talk from Pathology Horizons 2018- please email earmstrong@cirdan.com.

Interested in attending next year’s conference? Find out more and pre-register here.

News, Uncategorized

Hear from Prof. Armes on the future of genome sequencing

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Prof. Jane Armes, NSW Health Pathology, Australia spoke on “Genome Sequencing as a Diagnostic Aid” at the recent Pathology Horizons 2018 conference in N.Ireland.

In the short interview below filmed  after her presentation, Prof. Armes talks a little bit about her background, where she believes the future of genome sequencing lies, the challenges ahead and gives her thoughts on the Pathology Horizons conference.

About Pathology Horizons

Pathology Horizons is an annual CPD conference, which draws an international audience and is focused on the future of pathology. Delegates learn about new technologies, lines of research and procedural developments that are driving the future of pathology.

Unlike other larger pathology conferences, Pathology Horizons has just one conference stream allowing attendees to network more easily with both speakers and delegates.

Pathology Horizons 2019

The 2019 conference takes place in The Heritage, Queenstown, New Zealand from 8-10 August. Due to the boutique nature of this conference, places are limited. To keep informed of the agenda and when early bird registration opens, pre-register here.

 

News

Pathology Horizons 2019- The Big Reveal!

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We are excited to officially announce that Pathology Horizons 2019 will take place in the exquisite Heritage Hotel in Queenstown, New Zealand. This remarkable venue offers both scenery and atmosphere, located only a short distance from the town centre as well as overlooking breathtaking views of Lake Wakatipu. The CPD conference organised by Cirdan focuses on the future of pathology and attracts an international audience of delegates from a mix of clinical, academic, IT and business backgrounds. Year on year, the conference boasts an impressive speaker panel, including some of the best minds in the area of pathology and laboratory medicine.

Why attend?
This unique conference provides the opportunity to learn about new technologies, procedural developments and lines of research that are driving the future of pathology. This learning is done in a relaxed and fun environment, where delegates are able to network freely with both delegates and speakers.

Who should attend?
Pathology Horizons is open to anyone interested in the area of pathology e.g. Pathologists, Laboratory Managers, Laboratory Technicians,  Biomedical Scientists and Pathology IT. Due to the nature of the conference places are limited, so if you would like to attend remember to book early to avoid disappointment.

What next?

Over the course of the next 8 months we will be revealing the speaker line up and their topics, as well as additional details such as the conference activity and dinner.  Watch this space!

If you would like to be notified when Pathology Horizons 2019 registration opens, please click here.

2018, event, News

Application and Implementation of AI Driven Screening Processes in Pathology

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Dr. Donal O’Shea, Deciphex

Developing deep learning models that account for all variants of abnormality in a given tissue slide can be a challenge requiring extensive and time consuming annotation of thousands of pathology slides by experienced pathologists. The process also needs to effectively account for tissue processing variance and digital pathology scanner selection, which is almost infinite due to the extensive range of interchangeable unit operations available for the pathology lab.

In scenarios where a high percentage of normal content presents, we propose a generalised model for abnormality detection to help identify abnormal content of interest and support the elimination of normal cases from the workflow.  The generalised model as proposed is developed solely from normal cases, requires no annotation of slides as a result and can be rapidly tailored to account for inter-laboratory processing variance.

During his presentation,“Finding Normals: Application and Implementation AI Driven Screen Processes in Pathology”, Dr. O’Shea will discuss how such approaches can be leveraged, useful application segments for the technology and how he foresees this capability being embodied in software workflows.

View more on Dr. Donal O’Shea

About Pathology Horizons

Pathology Horizons is taking place from 13-15 September 2018 at the Lough Erne Resort in N.Ireland. It is a unique CPD conference, organised by Cirdan that looks at what lies ahead in pathology. Delegates will learn about new technologies, lines of research and procedural developments that are driving the future of pathology. View Agenda

Please note that given the nature of this boutique style conference that there are only a limited number of places available. If planning on attending booking soon is advisable. Register here

2018, News

Pathology Horizons – It’s almost time!

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With just over two months to go until the next Pathology Horizons conference excitement is starting to build. Here’s some insight into why there is such a buzz around this event.

What’s it all about?

Pathology Horizons is an annual CPD conference organised by Cirdan, which focuses on what lies ahead in pathology. Delegates attending this unique event, now in its fourth year will learn about new technologies, lines of research and procedural developments that are driving the future of pathology.

Unlike other larger pathology events, Pathology Horizons is a boutique conference with only one conference stream, allowing delegates and speakers to interact easily with each other, providing an excellent networking and learning environment.

International Experts and Groundbreaking Topics

A first class panel of speakers from across the globe, including some of the best minds in the areas of pathology, laboratory medicine and personal and organisational development have been lined up to deliver presentations. Some talks to look forward to include:

  • Virtual and Augmented Reality in Digital Pathology
  • Application of Liquid Biopsy to the Detection and Treatment of Ovarian Cancer
  • Genome Sequencing as a Diagnostic Aid
  • Emerging Neuropathology Diagnostics: Genetic Scaffolds, Phenotypes and Advanced Imaging
  • Advancing Diagnostic Pathology: Impact of Digital Pathology and Artificial Intelligence Tools
  • Extreme Makeover: Creating Pathology Reports that Make a Difference

View full agenda

Who’s attending?

The conference is open to anyone interested in the area of pathology and laboratory medicine, for example Pathologists, Biomedical Scientists and other Laboratory Professionals. Confirmed delegates this year are coming from as far afield as New Zealand and work in a mix of clinical, academic and industry settings.

What’s in it for me?

As well as the obvious learning and networking opportunities delegates can earn CPD credits for attending. The conference has been CPD certified and is approved by the Royal College of Pathologists for nine CPD credits. The added bonus is that you can get all of this professional development in a relaxed and fun environment within a five star luxury resort.

Where is Pathology Horizons being held?

The conference is being held in the Lough Erne Resort, one of Northern Ireland’s finest hotels, just outside Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh.

What can I expect?

Here’s a quick overview of last year’s conference in Cairns, Australia. Please note having a world-class golf course onsite is not a mandatory requirement when selecting a Pathology Horizons venue 🙂

Hear from some past delegates and speakers

How can I join the conference?

For details on how to register go to www.pathologyhorizons.com/register There is always a lot of interest in this unique event and demand has been greater than ever before this year. If you are interested in attending please book soon as there are a limited amount of places remaining.

2018, News, Uncategorized

Laboratory Medicine: The Times They Are A Changin’ – Hear more from Dr. Regan at Pathology Horizons

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We are looking forward to welcoming  Dr. Irene Regan, Vice President of the Academy of Clinical Scientists and Laboratory Medicine (ACSLM) in Ireland to Pathology Horizons this September.

Dr. Regan will be giving a presentation, entitled “Laboratory Medicine:  The Times They Are a Changin”, which will focus on the key challenges and opportunities of laboratory medicine and address pertinent issues of the day. The 3 I’s concept will be examined; investing in individuals, investing in ideas and investing in infrastructure in order to deliver a modern and up to date laboratory medicine ecosystem of excellence.

A vision for the future will be presented in relation to re-structuring of laboratory based disciplines taking into account the key challenges that face us today and in the future including; laboratory infrastructure, technology trends, global harmonisation of IVDs, health informatics, e-health, connected health, precision medicine, lab in the home and international competition in healthcare. This vision will be presented keeping in mind the need to ensure high quality and reliability of services.

About Pathology Horizons

Pathology Horizons is taking place from 13-15 September 2018 at the Lough Erne Resort in N.Ireland. It is a unique CPD conference, organised by Cirdan that looks at what lies ahead in pathology. Delegates will learn about new technologies, lines of research and procedural developments that are driving the future of pathology. View Agenda

Please note that this conference is open to anyone interested in the area of pathology, however spaces are limited so booking as early as possible  is advisable. Register here

2018, News

Genome Sequencing as a Diagnostic Aid

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There is wide acceptance of the concept of genotype-phenotype correlation in cancers. This concept has been extensively explored in breast carcinogenesis. Early work identified a strong phenotypic signature of breast cancer, which arose in patients with germline BRCA1 mutation. Subsequent data identified four broad intrinsic subtypes of breast cancer, with one being a group of “basal-like” breast cancers, referring to their over-expression of basal cytokeratin markers. Over time, and with transition of intrinsic subtyping to the clinic, the concept of triple-negative breast cancers (i.e., not expressing ER, PR or HER2 by IHC or ISH) evolved as a phenotypic surrogate for “”basal-like” breast cancers. This surrogate was acceptable, given that therapeutic targets available in breast cancer were limited to those directed at the ER/PR pathway and HER2, neither of which were expressed in basal-like breast cancers.

The genomes of several cohorts of triple negative breast cancer have since been analysed. It is clear that they are a heterogeneous group of cancers at the molecular level, with general agreement that some remain true to the basal-like genotype, whilst others have a predominant “immune-activated” or a “mesenchymal” genomic footprint. Still others are nominated “luminal androgen receptor” and are non-basal-like in their molecular profile.

Concomitantly, there has been evolving interest in targeted therapies for TNBC, including targets for basal-like and luminal androgen receptor breast cancers. However, there has been little application of this refined molecular stratification of TNBC in the clinic, possibly due to inaccessibility of genomic analysis for the majority of breast cancers and the fact that the morphological correlates of these TNBC remain under-explored. New technologies, including digital imaging of histology phenotypes, can potentially be recruited to help determine phenotypic subgroups of TNBC relevant to their genotype and therefore their potential targeted therapies. It is possible that these digitally-discovered phenotypes can be applied to stratify TNBC in the routine clinical setting.

Prof. Jane Armes, Clinical Director at NSW Health Pathology in Australia will be discussing further at Pathology Horizons 2018.

About Pathology Horizons

Pathology Horizons is an annual CPD conference that focuses on what lies ahead in pathology. This unique event allows delegates to learn about new technologies, procedural developments and lines of research that are driving the future of Pathology. Unlike other larger pathology conferences, it is a boutique event with only one conference stream. This enables delegates to interact and network with each other as well as with the expert international panel of expert speakers.

Date: 13-15 September 2018

Venue: Lough Erne Resort, N.Ireland

View full agenda
Early Bird ends 31/5/18 – View details on how to register