NEC Corporation (hereinafter referred to as NEC) and biomy, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as biomy) have signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct joint marketing and business collaboration to develop and expand an analysis platform in the field of digital pathology (Note 1). Through this collaboration, the two companies aim to promote personalized medicine for cancer patients and contribute to the development of the medical industry.
H&E stained digital pathology images to be input into biomy’s DeepPathFinder (TM)
Analysis results by DeepPathFinder(TM). Multiple types of cells were detected using the AI.
Background
Currently, personalized medicine, in which treatment methods are selected based on the patient’s constitution and the characteristics of the disease, is becoming more widespread. In the case of patients suspected of having cancer, a pathologist will observe tissues and cells taken from the body under a microscope and perform a pathology diagnosis to make a final judgment on the benign or malignant nature of the lesion and the type of cancer. In recent years, attempts have been made to use AI to analyze digital pathology images in pathology diagnosis to search for and detect pathological biomarkers (Note 2) that can lead to personalized medicine, and to select treatment methods and drugs that are expected to be more effective.
Objective and overview of the partnership
NEC aims to be a social value creator that solves various social issues through cutting-edge technology, and has positioned the healthcare and life sciences business as one of the pillars of its growth strategy. In addition to its strengths in image analysis and other AI technologies, NEC has been providing medical institutions with medical information systems such as electronic medical records for many years. In addition, the company has expertise in the licensing of medical devices, including pathology AI, having obtained a Type 1 medical device manufacturing and sales license in 2019.
Biomy aims to realize personalized medicine through pathology AI technology, and owns the AI-powered cloud-based analysis platform “DeepPathFinder(TM)” (Note 3). This platform uses AI to automatically analyze digital pathology images and determine the cell type and tissue type of each area. In particular, it is capable of detecting immune cells such as lymphocytes and plasma cells (Note 5) from H&E stained images (Note 4) alone. In addition, it also has the function of quantifying characteristics related to the therapeutic effect of drugs and prognosis. By utilizing DeepPathFinder(TM), it is possible to dramatically improve the efficiency and accuracy of analysis in the field of digital pathology.
This partnership will combine the strengths of both companies to strengthen the search for new pathological biomarkers using pathological image analysis for pharmaceutical companies and academia. Specifically, the following services are expected to be provided:
- A service that provides pharmaceutical companies and academia with a platform for discovering pathological biomarkers from pathological images
- Pathological biomarker discovery service by NEC and biomy
- Obtaining approval for medical devices using the pathological biomarkers discovered
Particularly in the field of cancer treatment, we aim to understand the characteristics of a patient’s disease based on data obtained from pathological images and to support the formulation of treatment plans based on this.
SOURCE: NEC
