Israel-based startup Ibex Medical Analytics today announced the first deployment in Switzerland of its artificial intelligence (AI) solution supporting pathologists during routine cancer diagnosis. 

Healthcare provider Kantonsspital Baselland (KSBL) will deploy the AI-powered Galen platform, helping pathologists improve accuracy and efficiency during primary cancer diagnosis.

The hospital provides histological and molecular integrative cancer diagnostics and personalised care for tumour patients.

Pathologists at KSBL will use the Galen platform to streamline workflows and improve accuracy during primary diagnosis via automated case prioritisation, cancer heatmaps, grading and other productivity-enhancing tools. 

Ibex's Galen platform is CE marked for breast and prostate cancer detection in multiple workflows.

WHY IT MATTERS

A rise in cancer prevalence and advances in personalised medicine have resulted in growing diagnostic complexity, which significantly increases pathologists’ workloads.

As pathology labs transition towards digital solutions, pathologists can implement AI-enhanced workflows to improve quality and efficiency of cancer diagnosis, resulting in better patient care. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Earlier this year Ibex announced a $38 million (€32.8M) Series B funding round to help expand its clinical deployments across North America and Europe.

Meanwhile, Dutch health tech company Royal Philips recently introduced its new digital pathology platform IntelliSite which it says uses “advanced algorithms” to assist pathologists in diagnosing and creating care pathways.

Also, researchers from Charité University Hospital in Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Technology and the University of Oslo announced the development of a new tissue-section analysis system for diagnosing breast cancer based on AI earlier in the year. The system facilitates the detection of pathological alterations in microscopic images. 

ON THE RECORD

Kirsten Mertz MD, professor of pathology at KSBL, said “Timely diagnosis delivered with the utmost quality are a cornerstone of cancer care at Kantonsspital Bselland, and we are committed to continually improving the technology and processes in our lab.

“We were among the pioneers in adopting digital pathology in Switzerland and take special pride in being the first hospital in the country to implement AI in pathology. We were impressed with the performance demonstrated by Ibex’s AI technology across multiple clinical studies in Europe and the US and look forward to getting hands on experience in working with their solution and examining how it can help improve patient care.” 

Stuart Shand, chief commercial officer at Ibex Medical Analytics, said: “We are thrilled to team up with KSBL and enable their pathologists to use state-of-the-art AI-powered solutions to more accurately detect cancer and improve quality and efficiency of diagnosis.

“With this cooperation, KSBL sets a new standard in cancer care quality, further proving its leadership and commitment to its patients by deploying an advanced clinical-grade AI solution to ensure the best possible outcomes. artificial intelligence and digital pathology technologies become an essential part of cancer care programs, their adoption being a vision shared by both KSBL and Ibex.”