Hamamatsu and AIxMed collaborate on AI-driven cytology workflow enhancement

Hamamatsu Corporation and AIxMed, a developer of software for digital cytology workflows, have announced a technical collaboration aimed at evaluating the integration of AIxMed’s ScanPilot™ with Hamamatsu’s NanoZoomer® scanners. The partnership will facilitate interoperability between the two systems, enabling technical image-quality assessment and autonomous rescanning in cytology research.

According to the press release, ScanPilot™ analyzes digitized cytology slide images to identify regions that may benefit from improved focus and proposes focal points and rescan parameters for compatible configurations. The software is designed to support technical image-quality assessment and scan workflow optimization, identifying blurry or out-of-focus regions and proposing scanning parameters for automatic rescanning.

Robert Moody, Strategic Manager of Digital Pathology at Hamamatsu, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration. "We are pleased to partner with AIxMed and add their expertise in cytology AI and workflow automation to our growing portfolio of digital solutions," Moody said. "This partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to integrating valuable capabilities that address the specific needs of our diverse customer base."

Samuel Chen, CEO of AIxMed, highlighted the potential benefits of the collaboration. "Cytology scanning still requires substantial manual quality checks, focus-point placement, and rescanning in many laboratories," Chen noted. "ScanPilot™ is designed to support automation of those repetitive technical steps. Our current evaluations are focused on characterizing workflow performance across defined slide types and supported scanner configurations. We are excited to work with Hamamatsu to bring this capability to cytology digitization workflows."

NanoZoomer is a registered trademark of Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., a Japanese company that Hamamatsu Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of. Hamamatsu Corporation is known for its advanced imaging detectors and measurement and analysis systems, with the NanoZoomer series of digital scanners being a pioneering solution in whole slide imaging scanner technology for pathology research.

This collaboration between Hamamatsu and AIxMed is intended to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of cytology research workflows, potentially reducing the need for manual quality checks and rescanning.