Digital pathology solutions provider Lumea and Verily, an Alphabet a precision health company, today are partnering for the development of products which can diagnose, prognose, and guide prostate cancer therapy selection with improved objectivity and efficiency.

The agreement brings together Verily’s artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms with Lumea’s comprehensive end-to-end digital pathology platform to better diagnose prostate cancer, according to the companies

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’s Digital Pathology technologies have the promise to provide more efficient and valuable techniques to democratize access to precision oncology” says 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.” 

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.

“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,” says John Wirthlin, Lumea CEO.