ZOETIS ANIMAL HEALTH, AND TECHCYTE AI DIAGNOSTICS
Zoetis is the world leader in animal health, covering over 100 countries with their products and services. Zoetis provides independent clinics all over the world with veterinary pathology services, such as the VetScan Imagyst, launched in September 2020: https://www.vetscanimagyst.com/. Partnering with Techcyte, a technology specialist in AI-powered digital diagnostic testing, Zoetis created the VetScan Imagyst, an automated parasite detection system helping veterinarians make accurate and timely intestinal parasitic diagnoses for cats and dogs. In October 2021 Zoetis launched a cytology service enable the fast and minimally invasive diagnosis of cancer, infection, inflammation and more. This is the second step in their plan to grow the VetScan Imagyst into a global veterinary pathology diagnostics platform.
“We are excited to build on the incredible momentum that began with the AI fecal analysis launch,” said Lisa Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Diagnostics at Zoetis. “Vetscan Imagyst has been a significant part of the Zoetis portfolio and continues to evolve to meet diagnostic needs in practices around the world. The unique multi-purpose technology has added immense value to veterinary clinics, facilitating fast, more accurate results, leading to quicker diagnoses and decisions that ultimately strengthen the bond of trust between veterinarians and their clients.”
HOW IT WORKS
A participating vet clinic is provided with a Grundium Ocus®40 slide scanner and a sampling kit. When a patient, a cat or a dog, arrives at the clinic, a sample is prepared on a glass slide. Instead of sending physical slides to a laboratory for analysis, the slides are inserted into the Ocus®40 scanner, and the scanned fecal sample images are processed automatically by a deep-learning AI algorithm and potential parasites are detected and counted. Test results arrive in 10-15 minutes, depending on network speed.
Cytology samples – cells from blood, internal organs, or bodily fluids – are examined by online expert clinical pathologists. A clinical pathology review for cytology samples provides results within hours. What’s new for both tests is the unprecedented speed of reaching a diagnosis.
BENEFITS
In the case of VetScan Imagyst, the biggest benefit of the Ocus®40 is removing the unnecessary logistics of people and slides. Where previously a pathologist had to be present for the tedious work of detecting and counting parasites in a sample and to do the diagnosis, or the sample had to be shipped to the nearest expert, it is all now done online. This process can save weeks of time in shipping and/or traveling. The patient can be prescribed the right medication and treatment immediately, eliminating a lot of stress for both the pet and their owner. The scanned images can easily be shared online with another pathology expert for a second opinion, all in a matter of minutes.
The Ocus® is designed to be an integration ready imaging component in a system. Read more here about what Techcyte, Zoetis’ partner in software, thinks about working with Grundium.
IMAGING MADE PRACTICAL
The Grundium Ocus®40 enables fast, simple and sharp imaging of samples. It’s small footprint means it can find a spot in the most cluttered of labs – often the busiest workspaces are the least orderly! The Ocus®40 is so simple to use anybody can be trained to use it in just 15 minutes. Created by ex-Nokia cameraphone engineers, it takes the sharpest images in the business.
If you are looking for a small footprint and sharp imaging component for your pathology solution or if you want to hear more about how to integrate an Ocus scanner into your system, book a free, non-binding online demo of the Ocus scanners, or just message us with any questions.