Market Trends of Whole Slide Imaging Industry
Telepathology Segment is Expected to Grow Significantly Over the Forecast Period
Telepathology is the practice of remote pathology using telecommunication links to permit the electronic transmission of digital pathology images. Telepathology can be utilized for providing primary diagnoses, second opinion consultations, quality assurance, education, and research purposes.
The telepathology segment is expected to witness significant growth owing to the increase in the adoption of telepathology in various departments, the increase in product launches, and other strategic activities. For instance, in August 2022, Tribun Health, one of the European leaders in software development for digital pathology, entered a strategic partnership with Mindpeak, a global leader in pathology AI software, to help pathologists analyze whole-slide-images (WSI) of immunohistochemically (IHC) stained human breast cancer tissue to detect, classify, count cancer cells, and to provide the respective quantitative score. Similarly, in August 2022, Diagnexia, Deciphex's telepathology care provider, and Saudi Ajal Medical Laboratories, a company offering medical laboratory products in Saudi Arabia, entered a strategic collaboration to provide expert consultation telepathology services in Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, telepathology provides immediate expert anatomic pathology consultation to sites without an in-house or subspecialized pathologist, which leads to the adoption of the same. For instance, according to the article published in March 2023 in PubMed, the concentration of contradictory diagnoses among a few pathologists showed that they were all familiar with diagnoses using frozen sections or telepathology. Thus, due to the increase in the adoption of telepathology services by the researchers, the demand for the same is expected to rise, fuelling the market growth over the study period.
North America is Expected to Witness a Significant Growth Over the Forecast Period
North America is expected to witness significant market growth in the studied market owing to the increasing investment in drug discovery and development processes and the rise in strategic product launches by the key players.
Also, the increasing funding from the United States government for supporting healthcare and publishing new guidelines for WSI in toxicological studies is expected to bolster the market growth over the study period.
For instance, in May 2023, the FDA issued final guidance on the use of whole slide imaging in nonclinical toxicology studies. The guidance is in a question-and-answer format and addresses issues such as validating the whole slide imaging system and protecting the images' integrity. Nonclinical laboratory investigations that can assist sponsors and regulators in understanding the toxicity of medicine often involve the histopathological evaluation of tissue samples utilizing whole-slide imaging. Thus, the release of such guidelines is expected to increase the quality of WSI procedures conducted by the researchers, which is further expected to create demand for the studied market in North America over the forecast period.
Similarly, an increase in procurement of WSI equipment by the major universities is expected to increase the market growth in the region. For instance, in May 2021, the University of Chicago purchased a brand-new Olympus VS200 Slideview Research Slide Scanner from Olympus Corporation. The scanner is utilized as a part of the drop-off service, and it is a whole slide, widefield scanning system capable of imaging full-color histology and fluorescent slides at a wide range of magnifications. Similarly, in March 2022, Leica Microsystems launched Mica, one of the first Microhub. A Microhub is a new type of wholly integrated imaging solution that leverages machine learning software, automation tools, and unique fluorescence unmixing techniques to automate the imaging workflow for researchers, regardless of their microscopy experience levels.
Thus, owing to the government's recommendations and product launches by the key players, North America is expected to witness significant growth over the study period.
