FormaPath has unveiled nToto, a new automated tissue visualisation system (ATVS) developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic's Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory. The new system was launched in conjunction with a poster presentation at the United States and Canada Association of Pathologists Annual (USCAP) meeting.
Common grossing metrics have not been captured or examined before, due to a lack of standardisation in tissue grossing techniques. The goal of the study was to characterise and quantify inter- and intra-operator variability in routine gross dissection procedures performed by human technicians. Using the results of this study to establish a baseline for comparison, FormaPath was able to confirm the feasibility of an AI-enabled, automated grossing system for standard tissue biopsies.
The poster presentation was titled: "Current State of Intra-/Interobserver Accuracy and Reproducibility in Tissue Biopsy Grossing and Comparison to an Automated Vision System."
nToto combines state-of-the-art robotics and computer vision technology, powered by a proprietary model, which validates samples during specimen intake, transfers them to the appropriate tissue cassettes, and populates the digital grossing report with previously uncaptured data points. It is intended to support high-throughput anatomical pathology laboratories seeking to streamline the process of preparing tissue specimens for downstream analysis and reporting. This new system also helps mitigate the labour shortage affecting the laboratory sector, relieving staff of repetitive and tedious tasks.
The first nToto system is now in beta testing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and production units will be rolled-out to several other labs later this year, with full commercialisation in 2025.