Aignostics launches HETA Clinical pathology AI family: measure tumor content before molecular testing
Synopsis
Aignostics released HETA Clinical, a family of pan-cancer AI products spanning the pathology workflow, with four initial products measuring slide quality, tumor presence, mitotic counts and tumor cellularity. These assessments are usually made by eye, which is time-consuming and varies between readers; pathologists the company spoke with at academic medical centers and precision medicine labs estimate that 10 to 20 percent of molecular tests fail because tissue lacks enough tumor. Built on the HETA platform, the products are positioned to confirm sufficient tumor before molecular testing and help labs prioritize cases.
Interpretation
Several judgments in the pathology workflow that were made by eye now have AI measurements that can be called at scale: slide quality, tumor regions, mitotic count and tumor cellularity, covering intake and evaluation through molecular testing. These assessments are usually made by eye, which is time-consuming, and visual estimates naturally vary from one reader to the next. Aignostics says pathologists it spoke with at leading academic medical centers and precision medicine labs estimate that 10 to 20 percent of molecular tests fail because tissue lacks enough tumor, which can mean repeat biopsies and lengthy delays.
All four products share HETA, a core pan-cancer platform for spatial H&E tissue analysis, so they reach a broad range of cancer types and pathology subspecialties rather than only the most common cancers. HETA was formerly Atlas H&E-TME, Aignostics' core pan-cancer platform. Aignostics says that in a recent study, cell classification by HETA matched or exceeded that of expert pathologists.
Each product maps to a decision point in the workflow: quality control screens slide quality, tumor detect flags likely tumor cases at scanning so they are read first and extra stains can be ordered at intake, mitosis gives a reproducible count, and tumor cellularity proposes a region with enough tumor for molecular testing. Labs need to confirm samples have sufficient tumor before molecular testing and decide the order in which cases are read. Aignostics says HETA Clinical helps labs prioritize cases, cut turnaround time and confirm samples have sufficient tumor prior to molecular testing.
Perspective
The announcement addresses pathology and precision medicine labs and describes what the four products measure on whole-slide H&E images and where they sit in the workflow; the products are labeled for research use only, not for diagnostic procedures.
The 10 to 20 percent molecular test failure figure is a pathologist estimate relayed in the announcement, not a measured improvement from the products; the claim that HETA cell classification matched or exceeded expert pathologists comes from a recent study cited in the announcement, whose details are not given.