Philips Korea announced Tuesday that South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved its digital pathology solution, the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution, for diagnostic use in the country.

Pathologists in Korea can now use the digital pathology technology from Philips to assess and diagnose clinical histology cases digitally, instead of with a microscope, with the aim to enhance laboratory efficiency and quality, the firm said.

“MFDS approval for the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution is an important step toward innovating pathology services in South Korea,” said Marlon Thompson, general manager of Philips Digital Pathology Solutions.

“Not only will implementing digital pathology promote increased efficiencies and collaboration between pathologists within South Korea and abroad, but it also unlocks opportunity in the future for computational pathology, which aims to increase accuracies and enhance patient care.”

Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution is an automated digital pathology image creation, viewing and management system comprising an ultra-fast scanner and image management system. It contains advanced software tools to manage the scanning, storage, presentation, reviewing and sharing of images.

The Philips-developed solution is available globally for primary diagnostic use. In addition to its CE-IVD clearance, it was the first -- and still the only -- digital pathology solution allowed to be marketed for primary diagnostic use in the US since April 2017 and in Japan since December 2017.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)