LEHI, UT, and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 16, 2022—Lumea, the global leader in integrated digital pathology solutions and Verily, an Alphabet precision health company, today announced a strategic development partnership. The agreement brings together Verily’s cutting edge artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms with Lumea’s comprehensive end-to-end digital pathology platform with the objective to develop products which can diagnose, prognose, and guide prostate cancer therapy selection with improved objectivity and efficiency.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in 2021 nearly 250,000 Americans were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and it is the second most common cause of cancer death among men in the country. New approaches in research and prostate cancer diagnosis and detection at an earlier stage are critical to improve mortality. Currently, the Gleason grading system allows pathologists to analyze tissue growth patterns and aggressiveness, and new research has shown AI systems may help provide more accurate and optimal outcomes.
Verily has developed AI systems for digital pathology to reduce variability and maximize insights from biopsy tissue samples. This novel approach enables a new way to understand cancer by eliminating variability, generating more information with less tissue and providing advanced computation to empower both researchers and clinicians.
The Verily-Lumea collaboration goal will be to accomplish the following:
- Utilize Lumea’s digital pathology platform and extensive database of pathology cases to enable Verily to validate its Gleason algorithms for prostate cancer developed in partnership with Google Health
- Integrate Verily’s algorithms into Lumea’s digital pathology platform. Pathologists will then have access to Verily’s AI to assist in identifying and grading prostate cancer within their existing digital workflow
“Verily’s Digital Pathology technologies have the promise to provide more efficient and valuable techniques to democratize access to precision oncology” said Jessica Mega, MD, MPH, Verily Chief Medical & Scientific Officer, Co-Founder. “Lumea’s integrated digital pathology solution was the ideal technology platform for us to validate our artificial intelligence method to improve cancer detection and grading.”
“Partnering with Verily will give Lumea’s customers access to world class AI without having to leave their workflow for another system or viewer. Verily’s algorithms will assist pathologists in both identifying and grading prostate cancer. These technology solutions will elevate patient care by giving physicians advanced tools to improve cancer diagnosis,” said John Wirthlin, Lumea CEO.
About Lumea
Lumea is the market leader in the field of integrated digital pathology solutions. Its proprietary platform leverages new technologies to drive significant improvements in biopsy handling, tracking, workflow, and pathology sign-out. Lumea’s technology results in measurably better quality, increased efficiencies, and significant cost savings throughout the diagnostic process.
About Verily
Verily is a subsidiary of Alphabet that is using a data-driven, people-first approach to change the way people manage their health and the way healthcare is delivered. Launched from Google X in 2015, Verily’s purpose is to bring the promise of precision health to everyone, every day. Verily is focused on generating and activating data from a wide variety of sources, including clinical, social, behavioral and the real world, to arrive at the best solutions for a person based on a comprehensive view of the evidence. Verily uses its recognized expertise and capabilities in technology, data science and healthcare to enable the entire healthcare ecosystem to drive better health outcomes.
