Press release

Aiosyn, Pathomation, and Radboud University Medical Center Are Awarded 1,6M € Eurostars Grant to Develop AI-Powered Solutions for Renal Diagnostics

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Aiosyn, a medical software company that develops AI-powered pathology solutions, has been awarded a 1,6M € Eurostars grant together with Pathomation and Radboud university medical center to accelerate the development of a Kidney-AI algorithm suite. The AWAKE (AI-powered Workflow for Assisted KidnEy diagnostics) project will bring the first AI-powered solution for renal diagnostics and clinical trials to market. AWAKE will also advance the Pathomation software suite with the goal to develop an open and vendor-neutral digital pathology software platform with multiple AI modules such as workflow and clinical-grade diagnostic tools.

Jeroen van der Laak, professor at Radboud university medical center and CSO of Aiosyn: “I’m excited that we will soon be able to start the Eurostars AWAKE project, which will be a stepping stone for AI solutions for the analysis of biopsies from transplanted kidneys. This will help us to more accurately tailor therapies for these patients, and may result in a decrease in the loss of transplanted organs in the future.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects 850 million people worldwide. In the final stage of CKD, there is a need for renal replacement therapies (RRT) such as dialysis or kidney transplantation. Recent research shows that in 2030 the number of patients that require RRT will double to 5.4 million (1), which underlines the need for new therapies and improving the success of existing interventions.

Analysis of a renal biopsy is often required to guide therapy selection and monitor the effectiveness, which is important to increase the success of RRT such as preserving the allograft. However, the currently used Banff classification for renal biopsy analysis has considerable observer variability, is mostly qualitative and lacks granularity in key areas, therefore challenging biopsy assessment. Within AWAKE, Aiosyn will develop and validate AI-powered Kidney algorithms and provide a quantitative and objective solution for lesion scoring. These tools will enhance the pathologists’ ability to recognize and characterize pathological processes, and they also have the potential to improve clinical trials and translational drug development studies.

Rudy Hovelinck, CEO of Pathomation: “The combined expertise of a leading academic research group, an AI company, and an established Image Management Software (IMS) provider in AWAKE will be a strong basis for the successful execution of the project. I am confident our collaboration will ensure a smooth transition from research to a routine application available to all labs through Pathomation’s ambition to build a universal open AI IMS platform connected to lab workflow and quality control. ”

Aiosyn’s Kidney-AI suite for assisted analysis of renal biopsies will be fully integrated in existing digital pathology workflows such as Pathomation’s PMA.core. The AI-powered solution will aim to provide major progress in the assessment and disease management of kidney transplant patients worldwide.

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 Pathomation

Pathomation is a leading innovator of software solutions in the digital pathology domain, providing software solutions with emphasis on communication and interoperability solutions for the end users.

About Radboud university medical center

Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, research, and education, located in Nijmegen. Radboud university medical center strives to be at the forefront of shaping the health and healthcare of the future.

About Eurostars

Eurostars is the largest international funding programme for SMEs wishing to collaborate on R&D projects that create innovative products, processes or services for commercialization. Eurostars is part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs. The partnership is co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe.

Sources

1. Liyanage, T., Ninomiya, T., Jha, V., Neal, B., Patrice, H. M., Okpechi, I., … & Perkovic, V. (2015). Worldwide access to treatment for end-stage kidney disease: a systematic review. The Lancet, 385(9981), 1975-1982.