25
 JAN

25. January 2022

A New Era of Digital Pathology Begins as FDA Approves First AI-Based Tool for Cancer

The digitization of stained tissue samples, the visual analysis and communication of data involving disease research and clinics through digital mediums is referred to as digital pathology. It can be used to digitize images of sample slides, live stream images and enable imaging of entire slides. As the scientific research community advances in technique and technology, digital pathology is emerging to next-generation digital pathology which also includes (AI-assisted) automated image analysis in biomedical laboratories both in clinical and non-clinical settings. This blog will highlight how digital pathology is used in laboratories as a technique that redefines cancer research, briefly discussing its promising future in relation to biomedicine and how TissueGnostics innovates to keep up with the rising relevance of this technique.

Next-Generation Digital Pathology as a Defining Technique for Cancer Research
Digital pathology software, specifically designed by TissueGnostics, has been used for years in research and can be used as a decision support systems for medical diagnosis. For example, in a research paper published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE in 2014, next-gen digital pathology was applied to extract, analyze and manage data surrounding the quantification of protein expression and cellular localization in tissue samples. The research discussed how digital pathology techniques could improve the reliability of cancer treatment decisions as they provided detailed, accurate and comprehensive data analysis for pathologists to use while drawing conclusions about patients. This paper evidences TissueGnostics digital pathology software as a valuable tool for decision support.

More recently, a review published in Genes (Mungenast et al, 2021) examines methods developed to enable tumor (immune) microenvironment analysis and cell phenotyping critical for cancer research. Next-gen digital pathology offered the scientists the ability to precisely understand the molecular mechanisms within various cancer tissues through advanced imaging and image analysis abilities. The authors are looking forward to the progress that next-generation digital pathology will bring to cancer research.

The Future of Next-Generation Digital Pathology and Biomedicine
The FDA approved the first AI-based next-gen digital pathology tool, developed by Paige, to be used for in-vitro diagnositcs in prostate cancer. This approval is a hallmark signifying how next-gen digital pathology has – and will continue to – transform digital data analysis in biomedicine. Pathologists and researchers are now in “a new era in the use of computer-assisted diagnostics for pathology” according to ClinicalOmics, this event is only the tip of the iceberg of what the future of next-gen digital pathology can bring. Innovations of such technologies that were once thought futuristic are being developed, emphasizing advantages like whole-slide imaging, image cytometry techniques and advanced deep and machine learning software. The next steps for such technologies have the potential to significantly impact diagnostics and treatment plans in diseased patients.

Digital Pathology With TissueGnostics
In summary, digital pathology is a useful, robust procedure that is enabled by innovative products designed to solve biomedical research needs in an increasingly digital world. Next-generation digital pathology offered by TissueGnostics is based on highly flexible and comprehensive tissue cytometers that combine whole slide imaging in various modes (brightfield, widefield fluorescence, confocal, multispectral, multiplesing) and image analysis equipped with deep-learning and machine-learning capabilities. A leader in providing solutions for digital needs, TissueGnostics prioritizes automation and reproducibility to ensure high performing product lines and services. Further details about the technology can be found on the company’s website. If you are interested in learning more about digital pathology, its growth as a powerful tool and TissueGnostics’ related services, please reach out to the TissueGnostics team.

Sources
• https://tissuegnostics.com/products
• https://tissuegnostics.com/contact
• https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100822
• https://www.clinicalomics.com/topics/oncology/prostate-cancer/paige-prostate-nabs-first-fda-approval-of-ai-based-pathology-tool-for-cancer-dx/
• https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/12/4/538
• https://tissuegnostics.com/news-next-generation-image-analysis1

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