The first digital leap

In this second episode of our special mini-series marking Sectra’s 10-year anniversary of digital pathology, we explore the early days of transitioning from analogue to digital workflows. Host Elin Abrahamsson is joined by two guests: Nikolas Stathonikos, Principal Investigator at UMC Utrecht, and Elin Kindberg, General Manager and Global Product Manager for Digital Pathology at Sectra.

Together, they reflect on Sectra’s very first digital pathology solution—discussing the concept of creating and using a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to see product fit, the challenges of analogue workflows, and how close collaboration with institutions like UMC Utrecht helped shape innovative solutions. Nikolas shares his experience as one of Sectra’s earliest collaborators, offering insights into the transition process, lessons learned, and the impact of adopting digital workflows.

This episode uncovers the critical steps that set digital pathology in motion and highlights the importance of partnerships in driving progress. Dive in to learn how the foundations of digital pathology were built!

• [02:20] Introduction of Nikolas Stathonikos and Elin Kindberg
• [06:10] Introducing the concept of MVP and our MVP for digital pathology
• [08:36] UMC Utrecht’s path to digital pathology in primary diagnostics
• [14:26] UMC Utrecht’s strategy to digitalize their pathology department
• [16:40] What it is like being an early adopter
• [18:50] Having the whole department on board
• [22:20] The day of go-live and the first digital period
• [27:41] The importance of early partnerships with healthcare
• [30:08] Lessons learned from going live with digital pathology at UMC Utrecht