One Lab’s Commitment to Women’s Health Helps Set a New Standard
At Arbor, a privately held women’s health pathology practice in Texas, a devoted team of specialists reviews hundreds of cervical samples per day, working to detect cervical cancer early and help save lives.
Balancing precision and pressure
Inside Arbor’s laboratory, the commitment is palpable.
“We’re a boutique lab,” said Dr. Whitney Lachar, one of the pathologists at Arbor. “We focus on a specific set of women’s health tests, but we do a lot of them.”
Together, the team’s cytologists and pathologists work to review cervical cell samples. The cytologists screen cells for early signs of disease, while the pathologists confirm and interpret those results to help inform clinical decisions.
Until recently, this consisted of long hours at the microscope reviewing physical Pap test slides for abnormalities. But as demand grew, so did the pressure. “Our volume got so high, I was struggling to keep my workday in my workday,” said Dr. Lachar.
Those challenges weren’t new to Dr. Hampton Richards, Arbor’s Founder, President and Chief Medical Officer. As a third-generation physician and OB-GYN, Dr. Richards became frustrated by the inefficiencies and fragmentation he had encountered when ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests for his patients. That experience motivated his shift from clinical practice to laboratory medicine, where he could help address these hurdles directly.
“Arbor was created to bring everything under one roof so women’s health providers could focus on their patients, not their paperwork,” Dr. Richards said. As test volumes grew, Dr. Richards looked for new ways to uphold Arbor’s promise, while also supporting the dedicated team at the heart of his lab.
Technology that empowers expertise
In 2024, Arbor decided to bring on Hologic’s Genius® Digital Diagnostics System, a solution designed to reimagine how cytologists and pathologists screen for cervical cancer.
The Genius Digital Diagnostics System is the first and only FDA-cleared digital cytology system. By combining a new artificial intelligence (AI) with advanced volumetric imaging, it quickly converts ThinPrep® Pap Tests into high resolution digital images. This enables cytologists and pathologists to identify precancerous lesions and cervical cancer cells with greater detection and efficiency than with traditional manual or ThinPrep® Imaging System reviews.1
For Dr. Richards, this choice was rooted in Arbor’s commitment to scientific excellence. “The idea of incorporating AI to make our humans superhuman was really appealing,” he said. “Because it doesn’t replace their excellence. It makes them more powerful in what they do.”
The impact was clear. “We saw pretty quick improvement in productivity, by about 50 percent,” he said. “Our cytologists were really happy. They were previously screening 90 to 100 slides per day. With the new system, they were able to increase their reviews to approximately 150 per day.”
The team was signing out more cases with less stress and strain, and Arbor’s most important operational performance metric, turnaround time, reflected the change. “We are consistently delivering over 90 percent of results within 72 hours, compared to 70–80 percent before adopting the system,” said Dr. Richards.
For Dr. Lachar, the transition from microscope to screen was surprisingly smooth. “I was cytopathology trained, so I was addicted to that fine focus knob on my microscope. But when I saw volumetric imaging demonstrated, I realized it was pretty awesome,” she said. “The quality of the images is beautiful. I had a picture made for my office.”
Beyond image clarity, the Genius Digital Diagnostics System helped change the way they work. “Looking at every single cell on a 35,000-cell slide, you don’t always trust yourself that you’ve seen everything,” said Dr. Lachar. “With Genius, I feel very confident that a negative is a negative, and that it will bring up abnormalities.” The system’s AI-generated gallery “makes review more focused,” she said, helping the team feel assured that even challenging cases are interpreted well.
The ability to digitally share cases, consult instantly, and focus time on the most challenging ones has also deepened collaboration. “If I’m unsure about something, I can flag it for my colleague next door, call them and say, ‘Pull this up. What do you think about square three, top row?’ It’s super easy,” said Dr. Lachar.
Dr. Richards agrees, noting that the system “lets our scientists focus on being scientists,” thanks to features like the digital queue, instant access to slides, and an AI-powered gallery of clinically relevant cells — all of which support more efficient review and enhanced operation.
Where progress meets purpose
For Dr. Richards, the adoption of the Genius Digital Diagnostics System marks a pivotal chapter in Arbor’s ongoing evolution.
Workflow improvements from this system, he said, have spilled over into other areas of the lab, inspiring process changes in core lab and molecular diagnostics as well.
“Hologic’s always been a great partner for us. Now with this amazing tool, we have a doubly reinforced team going in together to make sure we’re giving the best reads we can possibly give,” said Dr. Richards.
Because at Arbor, every advance is guided by one focus: to give women and their providers answers they can trust.