Eindhoven, The Netherlands and Tampa, USA – Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHIA) and Inspirata, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a joint development agreement to advance digital pathology through the development of advanced image analytics and automated workflows available as a Solution-as-a-Service delivery model. Focusing initially on the needs of U.S. cancer centers, the creation of improved insights and algorithms will help pathologists in better informed decision making.

“The advancement of digital pathology offers pathologists the opportunity for improved working experience that can be an important next step toward improving diagnosis and better and more accurate treatment,” said Perry van Rijsingen, general manager of Philips Digital Pathology Solutions. “Reducing the investment required by institutions – particularly high-volume, high-touch ones like cancer centers – opens the door for more patients to benefit from this level of care and attention.”

Built on the foundation of Philips’ innovation and experience in clinical informatics, Inspirata’s managed service model will supply the necessary IT infrastructure, services and resources for a digital program and eliminate capital expenditures related to the transition.

“Infrastructure requirements for digital pathology are enormous,” said Satish Sanan, Chairman and CEO of Inspirata. “We’re talking petabytes of data, which can exceed the storage requirements of all other clinical systems combined. Removing this impediment by integrating everything needed for accelerated department-wide implementation and long-term support encourages the adoption of professional services to operationalize and sustain a highly functional digital pathology environment.”

Philips (Booth #502) and Inspirata (Booth #501) will both be exhibiting at the 2015 USCAP Annual Conference in Boston, taking place March 21-27. For more information, stop by the booth or visit http://www.research.philips.com/initiatives/digitalpathology/.