Algorithms assist in personalized diagnostics

Digital pathology solution provider BioImagene has unveiled Companion Algorithms for use with its Virtuoso Internet-based software. The software aids pathologists in quantitative assessment of diagnostic tests used to determine patient suitability for specific cancer therapies.

The product is a tool for personalized medicine. As pharmaceutical companies work to develop companion diagnostics to individualize therapy for cancer patients, the company explains in an announcement, Companion Algorithms enable pathologists to identify and measure the biomarkers that determine the treatment options appropriate for individual patients. The algorithms do so by aiding in the interpretation of digitized images from such cancer diagnostic tests as immunohistochemistry and fluorescent in situ hybridization.

"Herceptest, the first FDA-approved companion diagnostic, is used to identify the subset of breast cancer patients who over-express the HER2/neu protein and will therefore have a high probability of responding to Herceptin," say Robert Monroe, chief medical officer, in the announcement. "BioImagene's FDA-cleared HER2/neu Companion Algorithm improves the accuracy and reproducibility of Herceptest interpretation." The company says it offers additional Companion Algorithms for breast cancer and is committed to developing new algorithms for companion diagnostic tests used in prostate, colon, lung and other cancers."

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