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DigiPathConnect - Interreg Project

Pathology is crucial in clinical diagnostics workflows but is challenged by regional shortages of pathologists. Digital pathology can help address this by converting tissue slides into digital images that can be remotely shared, analysed and interpreted. Furthermore, digital pathology images can be computationally analyzed to train AI algorithms to support pathologists, allowing them to work more efficiently and accurately, particularly for complex diagnoses.

‍DigiPathConnect tackles this challenge by creating a shared digital pathology platform that connects pathologists across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, enabling remote case consultations and expert second opinions. Furthermore, the DigiPathConnect project brings together pathologists and data scientists to create novel AI tools using large volumes of high-quality data, along with expert pathologist input. The focus will be on supporting the classification of colorectal tissue biopsies, and predicting whether lung cancer patients are likely to respond to immunotherapy. The project will also investigate how mass spectrometry imaging, a technique that reveals the molecular composition of tissue, can complement conventional microscopy by adding a new layer of insight into diagnosis and treatment prediction.

As project partner, Aspect Analytics contributes expertise in advanced spatial data analytics and software for mass spectrometry imaging. Via the Weave® platform, Aspect Analytics provides the tools and workflows that enable molecular imaging data to be effectively integrated into the digital pathology platform, helping researchers and clinicians explore tissue at the molecular level for more precise disease characterisation.

The project is funded by the Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE) programme, an EU fund for cross-border cooperation, with co-financing from Région Wallonne (BE), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (NL), and Land NRW (DE).

Consortium Partners:

  • Hasselt University — BIOMED and DSI (leading partner)
  • Maastricht University — GROW and M4I
  • University of Liège — Montefiore Institute
  • Uniklinik Köln
  • Pathomation BV
  • Aspect Analytics NV

For more information, see: https://www.interregmeuserhine.eu/en/projects/digipathconnect/