Aperio Technologies receives U.S. patent for client/server image analysis

Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,602,524 entitled "Image Processing and Analysis Framework."

The ‘524 patent describes a system and method for processing and analyzing digital slide images comprised of an algorithm server that executes image analysis algorithms on digital (whole) slide images, or on sub-regions of a digital slide image.

With this patent, Aperio extends its intellectual property portfolio to image analysis processing using a client/server architecture and distribution of digital pathology information, including support for multiple servers. A client/server architecture is a key aspect of making digital pathology useful in large labs, facilitating a more efficient workflow for busy clinicians and researchers.

Image analysis is a cutting-edge capability that uses automated analytical techniques and computer algorithms to extract quantitative information from the digital slide image, facilitating pathological interpretation. The ability to efficiently apply image analysis algorithms to digital slides is essential to automating tedious or repetitive analysis tasks such as counting cells or classifying tissue.

Aperio has a suite of image analysis applications that can be tuned for different tissue types (e.g. breast, colon, prostate), stains (e.g. HER2, ER, PR, Ki-67, P53, EGFR), reagents (e.g. Dako, Ventana) or to correlate algorithm results with other test methods (e.g. FISH, CISH). Aperio currently has FDA-cleared applications for HER2, ER and PR stained breast specimens for clinical use in pathology.

Dirk G. Soenksen, CEO of Aperio, commented, “This patent demonstrates our continued efforts to offer our customers the most powerful and flexible platform for image analysis in digital pathology. Providing a scalable client/server architecture for image analysis results in significant improvements to pathologists’ workflow and the ability to scale a system to large numbers of concurrent users and slides. This newly issued patent reinforces Aperio’s position as the pioneer and technology leader in digital pathology.”

Aperio’s patent portfolio encompasses all of the elements that comprise a digital pathology system, including digital slide creation, data management, advanced visualization and image analysis. Aperio’s intellectual property portfolio has over 60 issued and pending patents world-wide. Aperio is the global digital pathology leader with an installed base of more than 500 systems in 34 countries.