Joint Pathology Center selects Huron Digital Pathology’s image search engine to unlock vast knowledge contained in world’s largest human tissue repository

Huron Digital Pathology announced today that the Joint Pathology Center (JPC), the premier pathology reference center for the United States federal government and part of the US Defense Health Agency, has selected Huron’s artificial intelligence-enabled Lagotto^TM image search engine to index and search JPC’s growing digital image archive, as part of JPC’s digital pathology modernization efforts.

The Joint Pathology Center, which maintains the world’s largest collection of preserved human tissue samples, is pursuing a complete digital pathology modernization effort. Over the past century, the JPC has collected more than 55 million glass slides and 35 million tissue block samples, which have provided critical insight into the understanding of current and future disease. Data from the repository, which spans every major epidemic and pandemic in the past century, was used to sequence the 1918 influenza virus that killed more than 40 million people worldwide and could provide clues to better understanding and combatting COVID-19.

Image Credit: Andrii Vodolazhskyi/Shutterstock.com

Lagotto’s patented content-based image retrieval technology enables pathologists, researchers, and educators to search large archives of digital images for similar images and gain access to the rich knowledge contained in the associated diagnostic data. JPC will use Lagotto to unlock the wealth of knowledge housed in the JPC’s repository to enhance biomedical research for infectious diseases and cancer, and enable easier data sharing with researchers, diagnosticians, and educators to facilitate collaboration and medical advances.

“The modernization effort at the Joint Pathology Center is a significant step forward in the broad adoption of digital pathology workflows,” commented Patrick Myles, CEO of Huron Digital Pathology. “The breadth and depth of information contained in JPC’s repository is a one-of-a-kind resource for the clinical, research, and education community. We are looking forward to deploying our Lagotto image search platform at JPC to help unlock the vast knowledge for the greater benefit of society.”