Designed for use in pathology laboratories, the Glissando is essentially a scanner optimised for use with histological sections, the common method of preparing glass slides for pathology.* Once a tissue sample is taken from a patient and prepared as a slide the Glissando scans the tissue sample, creating a massive, high resolution digital image. A single scan can result in an image of over 5Gb and means the sample can be shared electronically so opening up the opportunity to share with consultants immediately and over the web giving access to specialist expertise across the UK and worldwide.
Initially a prototype was unveiled at the Digital Pathology Conference at San Antonio, Texas during September 2013 and interest and demand for the product has been considerable. Although not the first product of its kind available to the medical profession, the technology used to develop the Glissando gives superior price and performance and as a result is set to revolutionise work in this area. Its affordability means that consultants will have more ready access to the technology, making it much easier and quicker for them to share digitised scans worldwide via the internet and so opening up the opportunity for consultants overseas to share expertise.
Thanks to funding secured from RBS, production of the Glissando has now commenced. The bank has provided the organisation with an arrangement fee-free loan facility through the Funding for Lending Scheme – a Government backed scheme designed to provide more affordable funding to SMEs with growth plans.
Maurice Bowe, Managing Director of Objective Imaging Ltd, said: “This is a very exciting period for us at Objective Imaging. The Glissando is a revolutionary product due to its affordability and its existence will really open up the field for consultants working in this area.
“Thanks to the loan from RBS, we are now able to take Glissando to production and to start to fulfil the demand for orders we received back in September. We are preparing to launch the product at further trade shows coming up in Dubai and in the US this year and by having production already in place we hope that we will be able to satisfy customer demand here much more quickly.
“I cannot stress how crucial the support we have received from RBS has been in facilitating our launch of this product. The team really took the time to understand the product and our strategy and have provided us with an excellent financial solution.”
Paul Marks, Relationship Director at RBS, said: “We’re delighted to be using the Funding for Lending Scheme to support SMEs with growth ambitions and help them meet the financial challenges that come with growth. In this case we are delighted to have been able to help Objective Imaging with a fee-free loan, making borrowing much more affordable to them which in turn will assist with profitability and working capital.
“Objective Imaging has a very impressive management team and having worked very closely with them we fully understand their business strategy and the direction they wish to take the firm and as a result have tailored a funding solution to support the launch of the new product accordingly.”
Objective Imaging Ltd was founded in March 2000. The company specialises in automation controllers, high-speed mosaic imaging solutions, and advanced software tools, for imaging and microscopy. The company’s flagship OASIS controller products and Turboscan fast scanning solutions are widely recognized throughout the industry for their excellence in performance and as such Objective Imaging are the industry leader in high-performance hardware and software.
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For further information please contact Paul Marks at RBS paul.marks@rbs.co.uk
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