Histofy, a company specialising in AI for pathology, today announces £500K of funding to develop algorithms for endoscopic colon biopsy screening, helping to mitigate the worldwide pathology staffing crisis.
Birmingham, UK (10th March 2023) – Histofy, a spinout company from the University of Warwick, today announces it has joined hands with leading academic and clinical partners on a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded project to transform colon biopsy screening with advanced AI. The pioneering technology will automatically screen out normal biopsies so that pathologists can better use their resources analysing disease. The company, founded by Prof David Snead, Prof Nasir Rajpoot and Dr Simon Graham, will integrate its existing AI technology into clinical practice and perform an extensive validation using over ten thousand biopsy samples across ten UK sites.
Easing the Staffing Crisis with AI
Increasing screening rates for early detection of colon cancer are placing significant pressure on already understaffed and overloaded histopathology resources worldwide. The surging demand ultimately leads to delays in diagnosis, negatively impacting patient care especially for those with abnormal conditions (e.g., cancer or serious inflammation) where early intervention and treatment are critical. The funding acquired from NIHR will enable Histofy to integrate AI into the screening procedure, helping to ease the tremendous pressure currently placed on pathologists.
"Current practice is unsustainable and with increasing demands for colon screening there is no sign of it slowing down"
A Consortium of Ten Partners
NIHR have funded £2.6 million over three years to a consortium of eleven UK organisations, where Histofy have secured over £500K as the sole commercial partner responsible for productising the technology and integrating it within existing hospital systems. The consortium comprises ten NHS sites: Coventry, Nottingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Southampton, Glasgow, Newcastle, Durham, North Tees and Wolverhampton, who will provide a total of ten thousand biopsy samples for large-scale validation of the algorithm.
Prof Snead, Chief Medical Officer at Histofy and the COBIx Project Lead, said: “I am excited at the prospect of streamlining the examination of colon biopsies using AI. Current practice is unsustainable and with increasing demands for colon screening there is no sign of it slowing down. Our AI technology will reduce the number of biopsies that require examination and hence help overcome current challenges with staffing”.
Prof Rajpoot, Chief Scientific Officer at Histofy and the COBIx Joint Project Lead, added: “There is great potential for AI in pathology. In particular, our revolutionary technology can significantly reduce the burden of colon biopsy screening, helping pathologists focus on cases that require special attention”.
About NIHR
The National Institute for Health and Care Research funds and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing, and promotes economic growth. Their mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research
