Aiosyn, Radboud university medical center, and Pathologie-DNA are Awarded a EUR 1.300.000 EFRO Grant to Develop AI-Powered Solutions for Cancer Diagnostics

Wouter Bulten, Chief innovation officer of Aiosyn: “At Aiosyn, we recognize the critical role pathologists play in diagnostics. Through close collaboration, this EFRO grant enables us to further develop AI tools that support pathologists and enhance pathology practice.”

Close to 20 million patients are diagnosed with cancer every year¹. Unfortunately, incidence is expected to increase in the upcoming decades, with a predicted global burden of about 30 million new cancer cases per year by 2040². This underlines the need for new tools to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the disease diagnosis and treatment.

As part of this project, Aiosyn will further develop and validate AI-powered algorithms for breast and skin cancer diagnosis. One of such algorithms is Aiosyn’s solution for automated mitosis detection. The quantification of mitotic figures in cancer tissue is an essential part of the diagnosis of multiple tumor types. By leveraging AI-based digital biomarkers, pathologists can more accurately predict tumor growth and understand patient prognosis. This will help reduce observer variability, improve the accuracy and consistency of diagnoses, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes.

Jeroen van der Laak, professor at Radboud university medical center and CSO of Aiosyn: “Once you have decided which problem to solve, and have collected all required data, developing AI for Pathology is doable. But collecting high-quality data is tough, and getting the AI to a level that truly creates patient value is even tougher. In our AIRAT project we will tackle those challenges: collect multi-center data and move the developed AI forward to a certified product, ready to support pathologists.”

Aiosyn’s algorithms will be fully integrated in existing digital pathology workflows such as Sectra. The AI-powered solutions will aim to provide major progress in the assessment and disease management of cancer patients worldwide.

“We are excited to partner with Aiosyn and Radboud UMC on this project,” said Matthijs van Oosterhout, on behalf of Pathologie-DNA, chairman of Pathologie-DNA B.V. “Together, we can leverage our respective strengths to develop AI solutions that will improve patient outcomes and advance the field of pathology. This collaboration is a great example of how start-ups and established companies can work together to drive innovation.”

About Aiosyn

Aiosyn is a Dutch medical software company that develops AI-powered pathology solutions that will be integrated into standard pathology workflows. The Aiosyn team has been built upon 20+ years of research experience in the field of pathology and is rooted into the pathology practice.

About Radboud university medical center

Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, research, and education, located in Nijmegen. We mainly concentrate on prevention, meaningful and prudent healthcare, sustainability, artificial intelligence and data-driven systems, the molecular mechanisms of diseases and new treatments, and training the professionals of tomorrow.

About Pathologie-DNA

Pathologie-DNA is a collaboration between three pathology laboratories Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis, located in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, St. Antonius Ziekenhuis located in Nieuwegein and Rijnstate located in Arnhem. Pathologie-DNA is the partner in pathology for medical specialists, general practitioners and private diagnostic centres. We work with digital pathology. This makes it possible to provide continuous high-quality diagnostics. Consultation between colleagues and consultation with academic hospitals guarantee this quality.

Sources

1. World Cancer Day 2023: Close the care gap – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization

2. World Cancer Report: Cancer Research for Cancer Prevention (who.int)