Business Impact

Image Analysis in Healthcare

Image analysis is vital in healthcare. It is fundamental to every stage of drug development: the measurement of cell assays, the examination of tissue samples and the interpretation of medical imaging. Equally, image analysis is critical for early diagnosis and the delivery of effective, personalized treatment at the point of care. 

The task of analysis falls largely to experts in specific therapeutic areas who draw on their experience. This process is slow and, to a considerable degree, subjective.  However, despite decades of research and development, automated image analysis solutions have fallen short of their promise.

Any automated image analysis system must be able to handle low signal/noise ratio images, spectral deviations within and between images, experimental variations and ‘biological noise’ – the inherent variability of living organisms. It must also be able to compare structures on different scales, classify regions of interest and identify and measure units of interest correctly.

Each one of these issues is far from trivial; taken together they are an immense challenge.



Automated Image Analysis

A reliable, automated image analysis system would provide huge benefits for the healthcare industry: 
• Massively increasing the speed of analysis.
• Revealing details that are difficult to identify with the human eye.
• Improving the accuracy and consistency of interpretation. 
• Providing detailed quantification, such as the size and volume of objects, as well as an accurate assessment of change over time.
• Creating a platform for image analysis in translational medicine, in particular:
  - Enabling the comparison of images at different stages of the drug development lifecycle, including in  vivo and in vitro images. 
  - Facilitating the tracking of biomarkers for the early detection of disease and the delivery of personalized medicine.

In Summary

Image analysis is one of the principal 'bottlenecks' in the development of new drugs and the delivery of effective treatment at the point of care. It is a slow, inconsistent process which relies on a limited number of experts in any given field.

Yet the number of images and imaging technologies is proliferating. Pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers are unable to release the wealth of information and insights contained within the increasing number of images that they capture.

Definiens' patented technology provides a unique automated image analysis solution. It can quality and quantify data extracted from all types of images, increasing the speed, accuracy and consistency of analysis.

At the same time, it provides a platform for standardizing image analysis, facilitating the collaboration of different research teams and enabling the comparison of images all along the drug development lifecycle.

The outcome is the faster development of new drugs, earlier detection of disease and more effective delivery of personalized medicine.