Dimitris Hatzibougias, MD, MSc, PhD
Namely, the creation of Microdiagnostics, offering knowledge, solutions, and answers to vital questions for the clinical physician and their patient
How much my specialty, pathology, has changed. A few years ago, the pathologist had in their “arsenal” a well-stained slide and a basic set of special stains, histochemical stains, in order to arrive at a diagnosis.
I still remember, even today, sitting as a young child and gazing at the slides through my father’s microscope. Of course, all I could distinguish was a pink-red and blue colour, like an abstract painting.
How much the work of the pathologist has evolved, and how much more complex it has become over the years. How much information, how much data, how many techniques the pathologist needs to manage today in the effort to give a name to the disease. To define it.
Developments in the broader field of molecular biology have had, as one of their main consequences, the continuous reclassification of cancer and malignant tumours in general. Knowledge and information are increasing at a rapid pace.
There was a time when perhaps one, or at most two large, multi-page volumes could adequately include the basic characteristics of carcinomas. Today, the pathologist must refer to and consult a far greater volume of data, where one or even two multi-page volumes correspond to a single system of the human body, highlighting the need for ever-greater specialization.
After completing my specialty training as a pathologist and entering private practice, the realization of the need for subspecialization, as well as the new complexity in the application and practice of my work in everyday clinical reality, helped me define my own path. It helped me place a mark on the mental map of my career, which would from then on become my compass.
The foundation already existed. It was an already recognized pathology and cytology laboratory, known for its services, which my father had co-founded several decades earlier. Soon, however, he was left alone. His partner passed away early, and he continued on his own for many years. Along the way, the team grew, consisting of pathologists and cytologists with passion, enthusiasm, and dedication.
This structure was perhaps the greatest source of inspiration for me. And it did not take long for things to fall into place. With the unwavering support of my family, and especially of my father, the support of my distinguished colleagues, and the dedication and commitment of the laboratory staff, the final destination toward which my compass was pointing soon came into view.
The laboratory was renovated and expanded, with the aim of incorporating all the necessary departments and corresponding personnel, so that it could fulfil its new purpose, the very purpose it claimed to serve. This was none other than the provision of useful, essential information in the form of integrated diagnoses.
In recent years, Microdiagnostics has perhaps become the first model diagnostic centre in the private sector
In recent years, Microdiagnostics has perhaps become the first model diagnostic centre in the private sector: a unified and vertically integrated medical laboratory unit, where physicians, molecular biologists, and biomedical laboratory technologists work under the same roof, with a common goal and purpose. That purpose is the issuing of diagnoses, all of them accredited, with therapeutic, prognostic, and predictive value. It has achieved this by creating a centre of Histopathology, Cytology, and Molecular Biology, thus expanding the boundaries of diagnosis from morphology to molecular diagnostics.
For something like this to be achieved and to succeed, certain valuable qualities are required, such as:
harmonious collaboration
successful coordination
a spirit of solidarity
empathy within the team
consistency, stability, and cohesion
dedication
selflessness
Pressure and stress are factors that can negatively affect the desired outcome, namely a valid diagnosis. By making use of the many years of experience of our scientific, technical, and administrative staff, combined with adherence to protocols and standardized procedures at key points in the production chain, we at Microdiagnostics have managed to eliminate deviations from the issuing of thorough and well-documented diagnoses. Every day feels like the start of a new race. We know the limitations, but we also know how to overcome them.
And we achieve this through excellent and close communication with our collaborating clinical physicians,
who entrust Microdiagnostics with the diagnosis of their patients.
Especially today, when, due to the rapid technological development of minimally invasive methods, we as pathologists, cytologists, and molecular biologists are called upon to obtain an ever-increasing amount of information from biopsy material, meaning very small tissue fragments, or from cytological material, meaning fluid samples.
This is information that we share with a range of medical specialties, so that each patient can have access to the most appropriate treatment for them, at the right time, promptly and reliably.
This translates into important quality indicators, such as:
speed and avoidance of unnecessary loss of time
avoidance of wasting valuable biopsy material
optimization of medical care through the coordination and collaboration of different departments, putting personalized medical care into practice
further subspecialization of pathologists and molecular biologists in understanding the usefulness of biomarkers, so that personalized medicine, or precision medicine, can reach its maximum potential
Pathology is one of the fastest-growing medical specialties, and molecular diagnostics, or molecular pathology, is one of the fastest-growing fields within pathology.
Microdiagnostics is at the centre of these developments, and through teamwork I would like to believe that it succeeds in fulfilling its primary goal: establishing our services in the minds of both the clinical physician and the patient as the most reliable solution.