Putting Digital Pathology Front of Mind in Medical Imaging.

Within the medical imaging space, the digital pathology sector has had a great focus in recent years. Primary pathological diagnosis largely remains conducted by individual pathology investigation, with the use of digital technologies, advanced technologies and artificial intelligence use at a minimum. However, the trends are shifting.

Driven by a focus on improved diagnostic quality and the promise of emerging analytics tools, advancements within digital pathology are gaining traction. Leading companies in the digital pathology space are having to work creatively around limited funding opportunities, slow regulatory approval, and limited technological infrastructure. With a new lease of energetic innovation and regulatory changes that have come into effect at the start of this year, it’s the perfect time to look towards market leaders to see what can be gained from their efforts to increase digitised pathological avenues.

Digital Pathology Leads the Way.

Aiforia

A leader in the growing trend of collaboration for analytical progress, Aiforia’s outlook and recent 2021 partnership with global precision cancer diagnostics leader, Epredia, have made them a front-runner in the digital pathology space in recent years. Aiforia equips pathologists and scientists alike with deep learning and cloud-based technology for use in preclinical and clinical labs and offers a powerful portfolio of tools for improved diagnostic workflow and optimised patient care.

Aiforia’s Suites contain a clinical viewer, a platform for QC and adaptation and an AI model for diagnostic support. Whilst only available for diagnostic use in EU and EEA countries at present, the need for faster and more accurate diagnostics looks likely to trigger funding developments and regulatory changes worldwide. and Aiforia’s impressive AI analysis putting them ahead of the curve. To date, Aiforia have reached over 3000 pathologists and medical scientists worldwide and analysed over 1 million images. As momentum for AI-assisted diagnostics is only set to build, keep your eyes on Aiforia.

Deciphex

With 3.9meuro funding secured just this January alongside partnerships with the likes of Charles River and Janssen, Deciphex is finding itself at the forefront of digital pathology evolution. Their automated AI workflows and digital pathology analysis have been developed in response to increasing test volumes and test complexity, alongside declining pathologist numbers, and offer a tangible solution to more efficient detection and patient care.

Their solutions span two central offers. Diagnexia, an online clinical pathology department, gives pathologists on-demand access to primary diagnostics and secondary consultation services. Meanwhile, Patholytix offers an industry-leading digital pathology workflow with an integrated AI platform, accelerating research pathology with a complete GLP-compliant workflow with integrated AI screening capabilities.

PathAI

With 25 years of experience in diagnostic pathology and laboratory services and 90% of the top 15 BioPharma companies using their technology, PathAI brings its respected reputation and wealth of knowledge to innovative digital pathology. With custom algorithms and predictive analytics capability, the AISight precision pathology platform utilises optimised AI and digital pathology for full-service pathology review.

A number of high-level features, including side-by-side slide viewing, interactive algorithm overlay, heatmap viewer capability and informal annotation capability during processing elevate the PathAI solution above other competitors and denote a continued development in the digital pathology space.

A Bold Future Ahead for Digital Pathology.

Whilst there is still hesitancy within the market, it is clear that a growing momentum for progress and an increasing overlap between preclinical and clinical markets show an increasing space for collaboration and development. We find ourselves at an exciting moment in market development and a great point for potential investors and start-ups. The creation of further flexible funding solutions, increased cross-company discussion, and continued innovation from leaders across digital pathology can only lead to greater growth in future.

If my dive into digital pathology has piqued your interest, then be sure to explore more from the team on AI use in the medical device space, here. Better still, get in touch and let's chat! Drop me a message on LinkedIn or email me at Cameron.Ramsden@charltonmorris.com, I'd love to hear your thoughts.