Learn about Ghent University Hospital’s experience with Scopio for bone marrow aspirate analysis

Confidence, collaboration, and Full-Field freedom

The clinical hematology laboratory at Ghent University Hospital recently adopted the Scopio Full-Field Bone Marrow Aspirate (FF-BMA) application for analysis of bone marrow aspirates, and a word that repeatedly came up in their assessment was “confidence.”

The Scopio team synced up with Mattias Hofmans, MD PhD, a hemato-oncology specialist at the lab, and Annemie De Craemer, the senior lab technician who oversaw the validation of Scopio technology, to learn more about their experience. 

Scopio: How did you first hear about Scopio, and what sparked your interest in the technology?

MH: I was  first introduced to the idea of doing bone marrow morphology in a digitized way a few years ago, but there were limitations to the technology at that time. We then came across Scopio’s solution at an ISLH meeting more recently and were interested in learning more.

Scopio: What convinced you to go with Scopio?

MH: First of course, was the quality of the slide imaging; we need images of excellent quality for diagnostics. But also important for me was the ability to move freely around the slide, see the full field, and look at different regions. You need to do that to see an area of dysplastic cells or increased blasts, for example, that were not in your differential subcounts. Especially with blasts, multiple myeloma, and other plasma cell dyscrasias, you need to be able to move freely around the slide to identify areas of abnormal cells. That’s the reason we were interested in Scopio

 

Scopio: How was the onboarding and implementation process?

MH:  In terms of the installation, we had very good cooperation. It was really helpful that every two weeks we had a discussion with the Scopio team, which helped to solve immediate and often small questions. Any issues we had, Scopio immediately took it seriously and tried to solve it. That’s something that gives us confidence in the company.

AD:  I think the post-implementation meetings were also valuable because there are a lot of questions that arise when you’re actually working with the system that may not appear during validation. 

Scopio: What features stand out to you the most in day-to-day use?

MH: The total solution is quite good, but something small that’s valuable is that if we see something abnormal, we can just mark it, and it’s stored in the software. 

Then when you open it from another location, or another user opens the case, you can immediately see the abnormal cells or the area you want to discuss.

That’s important for me because if I’m in a multi-disciplinary oncology consultation with our clinical partners, I can show the slides and say, “look, this is why we come to a certain diagnosis.” This gives an extra level of confidence to the clinical hematologists.

AD:  I also especially like the automated detection of Megakaryocytes, which saves us quite a bit of time.

Scopio: How has your workflow changed since adopting Scopio?

AD:  I think collaboration has improved, especially between lab technicians and the clinical biologists. And now if samples arrive late in the afternoon, we can scan them for the lab technician who comes in the following day so they have a quick start in the morning. 

We can also now do differentials with much higher cell counts because it’s easier and faster.

MH: I’m used to doing a final check through the microscope because I’m often the last person to see the slide before we authorize the results to go to the clinic. But more and more, I just look at the Scopio images, because my confidence in the system is growing.

Learn more about fully-digital, remote-accessible digital bone marrow aspirate analysis here.