An innovative cloud solution for the management and analysis of clinical data, developed in collaboration with Cluster Reply and Concept Reply.
Simplifying diagnostics with the adoption of a digital solution will bring value to the end customer, reduce time and create parallel reporting channels capable of easing the load on clinical laboratories and pharmacies. These are the key objectives that have motivated DiaSorin, an Italian multinational company operating in the laboratory diagnostics market and specializing in the immunodiagnostics and molecular diagnostics segments, to explore the potential of the cloud and to develop a digital solution focused on the management of diagnostic tests. With the support of Cluster Reply, a Reply Group company that specialises in consulting and system integration services based on Microsoft technologies, and Concept Reply, a Reply group company focused on edge and IoT solutions, in only a few months DiaSorin has developed a proprietary IoT cloud solution, based on the Microsoft Azure technology, which can process and report Covid-19 tests.
The first application offered by the potential of DiaSorin’s IoT cloud solution, involved the new LIAISON IQ immunodiagnostic device. Thanks to this device, patients can test themselves to identify the presence of an immune response against SARS-CoV-2 at a pharmacy and obtain the results quickly and with the quality of laboratory tests.
Furthermore, thanks to the use of a physical tablet, DiaSorin’s diagnostic devices are connected to the cloud solution, thus making them “smart” and connected.
The solution developed with the assistance of Cluster Reply and Concept Reply has enabled a greater decentralisation of the processes involved: not only have the devices been made available to pharmacies located throughout Italy, but they have also removed the need for a laboratory or a pharmacy to act as an intermediary for the medical report, which can now be sent directly to the patient. As soon as the documents are available, they can be downloaded securely from the platform by the user.
The digital reporting and signature system has also been significantly simplified and automated, thus easing the daily workload of the physicians involved. Moreover, thanks to the cloud solution implemented, it is now possible to remotely control the parameters of the medical devices and to receive prompt notifications on their operation.
The solution, created in collaboration with Cluster Reply and Concept Reply and based on the Azure IoT cloud, was developed with a “secure by design” approach, ensuring maximum security between the connected devices and the cloud. Moreover, the solution also enables the management, storage and eventual analysis of the data collected by the different connected medical devices, all while ensuring maximum security. The cloud solution has passed a series of stringent controls and a comprehensive validation path in order to be approved for use in the medical field.
In the future, it could potentially be applied and natively integrated to any other diagnostic device of the DiaSorin Group, which is already experiencing the value of turning a product into a service.
To date, we have already installed a few hundred tools, with a growing trend. The availability of data, whether granular or in aggregate form, provides valuable information both for DiaSorin, for healthcare staff and for patients. We will thus be able to improve screening, promptly notify the various actors involved, and increase our ability to analyse the results and the patient populations, allowing to accurately target the development of new and increasingly more accurate and effective tests
Davide Marietta
CIO, DiaSorin