Leica Biosystems agrees with the UK Office of Life Sciences to advance AI in pathology

Dec 22 2017

A transformative sector deal was announced between companies of the UK life sciences sector and the UK government on Wednesday, December 6^th, 2017. This agreement draws substantial investment into the sector including the development of a trail-blazing digital pathology program leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). Leica Biosystems is proud to work with the UK Office of Life Sciences to advance their mission through expanded use of Leica Biosystems Aperio Digital Pathology Solutions.

"Leica Biosystems has large investments and a keen interest in the growing UK market. Government stimulus funding will certainly accelerate the development and adoption of new digital pathology applications," said Jerome Clavel, Vice President and General Manager, Leica Biosystems Pathology Imaging Business. "Substantial amounts of data are required to build meaningful AI applications. Hence, building a substrate of digital pathology adoption is a prerequisite to computer-assisted diagnosis and automation of pathology through AI."

Leica Biosystems has a broad menu of Image Analysis (IA) applications already in use by all 10 top pharma companies. These applications are referenced in over 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications. At the Leica Biosystems manufacturing, research and development operations in Newcastle, UK, over 160 employees develop imaging and scanning systems, for cytogenetics and pathology labs, as well as reagents and biomarkers for companion diagnostics.

"The advancement of Image Analysis applications is exciting news for all researchers and pathologists working in cancer research and translational medicine," said Laura Wilson, a senior Researcher at the Newcastle University Cancer Research UK Centre, Northern Institute for Cancer Research. "As an experienced user of Aperio algorithms, I have come to appreciate the role of automated Image Analysis. It can improve efficiency and accuracy from H&E, IHC, and Immunofluorescence applications. With the support of the UK government and industry leaders such as Leica Biosystems, this technology may become more accessible to all UK researchers and pathologists; leading to new breakthroughs in innovative medical research."