Hospital launches tender for digital pathology scanner
A health body is tendering for a high-capacity digital pathology scanner to support diagnostics, research and faster, more consistent lab workflows.
A health body is tendering for a high-capacity digital pathology scanner to support diagnostics, research and faster, more consistent lab workflows.
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SYKEHUSINNKJØP HF has launched a contract notice for a digital pathology scanner to handle high volumes of histological tissue sections at St. Olavs Hospital. The high-capacity system is expected to automate slide scanning, integrate with existing digital systems, and underpin both clinical diagnostics and research.
Published on 23rd April 2026, the contract notice sets out plans to acquire a high-capacity scanner for digital pathology. The scanner will automate and enhance the scanning of histological tissue sections, with a clear brief to support clinical diagnostics, research and efficient workflow.
For St. Olavs Hospital, this points to a platform able to handle large numbers of tissue sections while producing consistent digital images for review. Automation is central: rather than relying on manual, case-by-case scanning, the new equipment is expected to provide a streamlined process for loading, scanning and routing images into the hospital’s existing systems.
According to the notice, the scanner must:
High-throughput scanners of this kind are becoming standard in advanced laboratories. In January 2026, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège published a contract notice for a high-throughput slide scanner to digitise pathology laboratory slides, covering supply, installation, commissioning, training and maintenance. In February 2026, Universitetet i Oslo sought a slide scanner system designed for high-resolution digitisation of histological materials to enhance its existing microscopy workflow. And in March 2026, Region Dalarna went to market for a tissue slide scanner for its pathology and cytology service, with an option for an additional unit. St. Olavs Hospital is positioning itself in the same high-capacity category.
The St. Olavs notice stresses that the new scanner must integrate with existing systems, signalling a move away from stand-alone devices towards joined-up digital pathology environments. That mirrors a wider pattern in recent procurements, where hospitals and regions specify not only scanners but also software, viewers, storage and interfaces into hospital information systems.
In March 2026, Region Midtjylland issued a contract notice for a digital pathology solution that aims to implement and consolidate fully digitalised workflows for microscopy and diagnostic evaluation of tissue samples across three pathology departments. The focus there is explicitly on end-to-end workflows, not just the acquisition of imaging hardware.
Other notices underline the same shift. A November 2025 contract notice from Sansia Oy for digital pathology scanners specifies that images must be stored in DICOM format and viewed through the Sectran IDS7 viewer. In December 2025, Region Norrbotten’s procurement of digital pathology image viewers and storage showed how viewers and archiving infrastructure are now treated as integral components of digital pathology projects.
Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein AöR took a similarly broad approach in January 2026, tendering for digital pathology equipment that combines high-performance throughput scanners, evaluation software, IT infrastructure and short-term archiving systems. In March 2026, 2M-IT Oy sought licences and services for a digital pathology system that complies with Finnish legislation and supports welfare service production, illustrating how software access and managed services are now central to system design.
Earlier, in February 2026, Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny tendered for a digital pathology system that includes a mounting machine and fully automated scanner for biopsy slides, as well as installation, warranty services, ongoing consumables supply and software support. And in November 2025, Centrum Onkologii Ziemi Lubelskiej im. św. Jana z Dukli sought a microscope specimen scanner with software for digital pathology to support its Department of Cancer Pathology and enhance the hospital’s HIS system. Against this backdrop, St. Olavs Hospital’s requirement for seamless integration marks its scanner as a core component of a wider digital ecosystem rather than an isolated purchase.
The St. Olavs procurement highlights a dual purpose: the scanner must support routine clinical diagnostics and research. That balance between service delivery and scientific work is also evident in many recent tenders for digital pathology and related imaging systems.
On the diagnostics side, several hospitals are investing as part of national oncology initiatives. In October 2025, Szpital Wojewódzki im. dr. Ludwika Rydygiera w Suwałkach issued a contract notice for histopathology laboratory equipment, including a scanner, laser printer and thermal transfer printer, under a National Oncology Strategy programme. In November 2025, Uniwersytecki Szpital Kliniczny Nr 1 w Lublinie followed with a tender for equipment for pathomorphological diagnostics that combines a histopathological scanner, operational equipment and software for digital diagnostics and analysis of histopathological specimens.
Around the same time, Specjalistyczny Szpital im. dra Alfreda Sokołowskiego published a notice for the delivery of two scanners for its Department of Pathomorphology, again within a National Oncology Strategy programme. Samodzielny Publiczny ZOZ Wojewódzki Szpital Zespolony im. Jędrzeja Śniadeckiego w Białymstoku’s November 2025 tender for equipment for pathological diagnostics adds a tissue processor and an automatic stainer for immunohistochemical reactions alongside a scanner and software for digital pathology. Collectively, these oncology-linked procurements show how scanners are being embedded in comprehensive cancer-diagnostic workflows.
Research and specialist applications are equally visible. In November 2025, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum tendered for digital slide scanners for multiple locations to enhance tumour diagnostics and archiving of whole-slide images. In January 2026, Medizinische Universität Wien issued a prior information notice on acquiring a histological scanner system to digitise light microscopic sections and strengthen diagnostics and research in neuropathology.
In March 2026, Ústav experimentální medicíny AV ČR went to market for an advanced high-resolution imaging system capable of capturing deep structures in intact tissue, including integration with a pulsed femtosecond laser, transport, installation, testing and training. And in November 2025, VšĮ Vilniaus universiteto ligoninė Santaros klinikos sought medical devices for a State Pathology Center, including a semi-automated sample orientation and blocking system and a tissue processing processor for histological studies. These investments reflect a growing demand for high-quality digital and pre-analytic infrastructure to support complex tissue-based research.
Digital pathology is also extending into forensic work. In April 2026, Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, described as the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, outlined plans to procure two digital pathology scanners for its forensic unit’s histology laboratories, together with software and maintenance services, to enable digital examination of deceased samples. The St. Olavs Hospital scanner will sit within this broader move to digitise tissue imaging across cancer care, neurology, forensic science and academic research.
The market is still evolving. Also in April 2026, Fimlab Laboratoriot Oy launched a market consultation on a comprehensive digital pathology solution, seeking information and preliminary cost estimates and inviting suppliers to comment on a potential division into lots. That kind of engagement suggests many laboratories see scanners as one element in multi-stage programmes covering equipment, software, storage and support services.
For SYKEHUSINNKJØP HF and St. Olavs Hospital, the immediate task is to secure a high-capacity scanner that fits cleanly into existing systems while serving both diagnostic and research needs. As more hospitals, regions and research centres move towards fully digital tissue workflows, the outcome of this procurement will be a useful indication of how far St. Olavs intends to develop its digital pathology capability and where future investment opportunities may arise.
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