Cellular pathology plays a critical role in cancer diagnosis. Increasing capacity within this part of the pathway can help patients move more quickly from biopsy to diagnosis and treatment.
Moondance Cancer Initiative has been working with the NHS Wales National Pathology Programme to explore how automated microtomy could help strengthen cellular pathology capacity across Wales.
Why automated microtomy?
Microtomy is the process of cutting very thin sections from patient tissue samples so that they can be placed onto slides and examined by pathology teams.
Automated microtomy is increasingly being adopted in NHS laboratories elsewhere in the UK and internationally. At present, microtomy remains a fully manual process across NHS Wales.
Independent analysis commissioned by Moondance Cancer Initiative found that automated microtomy could increase capacity, improve consistency and resilience, reduce pressure on pathology teams and reduce reliance on outsourcing and other temporary measures.
From analysis to implementation
The analysis recommended a phased approach to deployment across Wales, beginning with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales.
Work is now progressing with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, the NHS Wales National Pathology Programme and other partners to move the first deployment from recommendation towards implementation.
In parallel, further work is continuing with Health Boards in South East and South West Wales to develop and validate potential shared models for subsequent deployment.
Supporting wider change across Wales
The first deployment will provide important practical learning about implementation, workforce, workflow, costs and the impact of automated microtomy in routine NHS delivery.
This will also help validate the benefits identified through the original analysis and provide evidence to support sustainable delivery.
Moondance Cancer Initiative will use this learning, alongside the National Pathology Programme and Health Board partners, to inform the next stages of automated microtomy implementation across Wales.