There’s a new tool in place at the Pontiac Hospital that uses artificial intelligence to speed up blood sample analysis, thanks to more than $60,000 from the Pontiac Community Hospital Foundation (PCHF).
A new “CellaVision” brand blood analysis machine was installed in the local lab.
According to the company’s website, the software analyzes “cellular features from digital images and delivers a pre-classification of cells using innovative AI technology”, which is then reviewed and verified by a human technologist.
According to Ulrich Guénette, the technical coordinator at the laboratory, the technology can speed up the analysis process significantly.
“The purpose of this device is that it acts as a microscope, taking photos and images, which are then reclassified so that a technologist can examine the images and perform a technical interpretation,” he said in French. “It saves the fact that, in normal times, we would be using a microscope and would attempt to read the slide ourselves and make an interpretation ourselves.”
He said that on average it can take a technologist anywhere from five to 15 minutes to read a slide and interpret it, depending on the complexity, while the machine can cut that down to two. He said that it can also speed things up by sending slides electronically, instead of transporting them physically.
Guénette told THE EQUITY that while many larger hospitals have been using similar technology in their laboratories for years, the addition will make a big difference in Shawville. He explained that there was still a validation process to go through to ensure the technology is up to snuff, which he said should be completed in a few weeks at the most.
He emphasized that while the computer analyzes the slides, it is always up to a human professional to review the results.
“It’s going to take care of everything that’s really technical and after that, it’s up to us to make sure that the job was done correctly,” he said.
The $63,250 cost for the CellaVision tool came entirely from the PCHF. CISSSO’s Pontiac territory director Nicole Boucher-Larivière said that they have been planning the project since April 2023, and the organization paid for the necessary modifications for the lab.
PCHF president Allan Dean said that they were happy to fund something that would speed up the turnaround time for hospital patients.
“We just received a request from the CISSSO to fund it, and Dr. [Thomas] O’Neill spoke on the subject at one of our meetings,” he said. “It will be one of the leading edge ones that any of the regions have, so we’re happy about that.”
