Advancing
Digital Pathology
VENTANA® DP 600 slide scanner
UI/UX · Research · Prototyping · Healthcare
Overview
In 2019, Roche aimed to launch a new tissue slide scanner, the VENTANA® DP 600, to compete with existing market products. Given our previous collaboration with Roche on the VENTANA® DP 200 slide scanner, along with our extensive knowledge, connections, and research, we were well-positioned to take on this project.
Comparison between the new scanner (left) and the old scanner (right). In the middle is the companion software designed by our team.
Project duration
6 months
Team
2 Product Designers, Design Lead
Product Owner, 2 Product Managers, 2 Software Engineers, Scientist/Lead Engineer
Tools
Sketch, Invision, After Effects
My role
UX/UI Design
Prototyping
Research and Testing
How might we improve the workflow for digitising and analysing tissue samples?
Project briefing
The objective was to research, strategise, and design the user experience for scanning tissue slides into high-resolution digital images. An external team would handle the hardware design.
Research → Conceptualise → Design → Test → Synthesise
1. Research
Workflow simulations
We brainstormed ideas and simulated the scanning workflow using cardboard dummies. This was useful to understand how much time it took to scan tissue slides in different scenarios.
Desk research
We researched and analysed other slide scanners on the market. Then, we compared characteristics like capacity, speed and footprint.
Interviews with Pathologists and Lab Technicians
We had the opportunity to shadow professionals in their work environments, where we were able to identify needs and pain points (see lists below), explore ways to make their workflow more efficient, and validate initial concepts.
User pain points
➔ Time-consuming workflow
➔ Integration issues
➔ Inconsistent quality control
➔ Limited customisation and flexibility
➔ Lack of real-time monitoring
User needs
➔ Automatisation of actions
➔ Seamless integrations
➔ Tracking system
➔ Barcode reading and customisation
➔ Built-in touch-screen allows for versatility
➔ Trays should be standard
➔ LEDs flag tray with issues
➔ Ability to know how many trays are inside the scanner
2. Conceptualisation
In an ideal world, the workflow would involve simply pressing a button to magically scan 40 slides. Although we aimed for maximum automation, the scanning process still required some manual labor.
Flow of digitising tissue samples
3. Design
Scanner view – status of the job can be viewed from a far.
Slides view – more in detail view of the scanning process. User can change capture settings and check the quality of each scanned image.
Quality Assurance – checking image quality and area of interest (AOI) after scanning is complete. This particular slide wasn’t captured correctly, so it will be rejected and scanned again.
Global settings
Image viewer – user can inspect the captured images in great detail, and approve, reject or rescan slides.
4. Testing
We travelled to cities in Europe and the US to test our prototypes.
Feedback:
Users were pleased with the desktop software.
No demand for a mobile app to track the scanning process.
A built-in touchscreen was considered helpful.
Loading slides efficiently was crucial.
User testing setup – software prototypes and cardboard slide tray
5. Synthesis & delivery
At the end of each loop, a synthesis was presented to stakeholders. Upon project completion, we delivered all assets and prototypes, documentation, recommendations, and research summaries.
Outcomes
Our contract concluded before the hardware development began, delaying the production of the new scanner. In 2022, three years after our involvement, Roche announced the launch of the VENTANA DP 600 slide scanner. We were pleased to see our contributions being utilised.
