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Leeds Virtual Microscope

Date

A microscope slide with a white background and solid pink marks in organic shapes

Researchers from the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) worked together to develop a patented software solution, the Leeds Virtual Microscope (LVM).

Backed by a range of research projects, including the School of Computing's Powerwall displays, systems development, and a case study, the LVM is a high-resolution virtual microscope that supports pathologists to clearly see and interact with pathogens on-screen, so they can efficiently and reliably diagnose illnesses.

Virtual Pathology at the University of Leeds

Impact

  • Health impact: created cutting-edge technology that enhances pathologists' ability to efficiently diagnose illness, leading to improved health outcomes.

Key information

  • Major funders: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Jisc, Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Medical Technologies Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC), EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)
  • Partners and collaborators: Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT), Roche
  • Disciplines: biotech, healthtech, biology
  • Investigators: Professor Darren Treanor, Professor Roy Ruddle.

The LVM is the only virtual microscope in the world that:

  1. Provides pathologists with a field of view that is as large as a conventional light microscope to allow for efficient diagnosis
  2. Renders virtual slides in real time on the high-resolution displays that are needed for that field of view
  3. Allows pathologists to interactively view large (100+ slide) patient cases to make complex diagnoses.

After its initial creation, the LVM was further developed following proof-of-market studies to improve its functionality and prove its commercial concept.

This work led to an award from the EPSRC IAA to fund a full-time software engineer, who further improved the technology so that it has the broadest vendor reach, richer functionality for interacting with virtual slides, and tracking techniques that show pathologists what they have inspected.

The LVM progressed to a fully commercial product, and in 2015, a commercial agreement was signed with Roche, the world’s largest biotech company. Roche has since developed the software further and, in 2019, they announced the launch of uPath enterprise software.

“With this launch, we are able to deliver an improved digital pathology experience consisting of the VENTANA DP 200 slide scanner and uPath software, which are the foundation to further enrich our portfolio of automated clinical algorithms for pathologists," said Jill German, Head of Roche Tissue Diagnostics.

"We’re excited to offer pathology labs a high-quality solution to help improve workflow efficiencies, accuracy and precision tools. This launch is another major milestone in our commitment to the advancement of patient care through digital pathology, empowering pathologists to deliver next-level personalised healthcare solutions.”

Image: Virtual Pathology at the University of Leeds, copyright University of Leeds. Not for commercial use.

This project was sponsored by the UKRI Impact Acceleration Account.