Fujifilm partners with Ibex for AI-powered cancer diagnostics
FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe has announced a formal partnership with Ibex Medical Analytics to integrate artificial intelligence-powered cancer diagnostics into digital pathology workflows, addressing the critical shortage of pathologists whilst enhancing diagnostic accuracy and efficiency.
The collaboration will integrate Ibex’s AI platform with Fujifilm’s SYNAPSE® Pathology solution, initially launching at North Bristol NHS Trust before rolling out to additional UK customers. The partnership aims to optimise laboratory workflows and reduce turnaround times for cancer diagnosis across prostate, breast, and gastric cancers.
Addressing the pathologist workforce crisis
The partnership responds to mounting pressures within pathology services, with over 35 million new cancer cases predicted by 2050 – a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million cases in 2022. Cancer Research UK forecasts a 5% annual increase in histology slides, requiring a 47% workforce increase to meet predicted workload demands by 2029 in the UK alone.
This represents the highest staffing requirement amongst the seven cancer-supporting professions investigated, highlighting the urgent need for technological solutions to enhance diagnostic capabilities.
Performance improvements through AI integration
Clinical data demonstrates significant efficiency gains from the integrated solution. Ibex’s AI solutions have shown improvements in reporting efficiency and productivity of up to 37%, whilst the SYNAPSE® Pathology solution delivers digital images for diagnosis 1.7 hours faster than traditional glass slides.
The most striking improvement occurs in prostate cancer diagnosis, where AI-enhanced digital pathology can reduce turnaround times from 1.8 days to 9.4 minutes compared to standard microscopy-based approaches.
Clinical perspective on AI adoption
Dr Nirav Gandhi, an AI advocate within histopathology and Fujifilm customer, emphasised the transformative potential of the technology integration: “The integration of Digital Pathology and AI tools into cancer diagnostics marks a transformative shift in our field. These technologies significantly enhance our ability to analyse tissue samples with greater speed, precision, and consistency.”
He highlighted the collaborative benefits: “Digital slides allow for faster sharing and collaboration among specialists, which is crucial for complex cases. AI algorithms, trained on vast datasets, can assist in detecting patterns and anomalies that may be subtle or easily overlooked by the human eye, acting as a powerful second reader.”
Market adoption and future outlook
Despite proven benefits, digital pathology adoption for primary diagnosis remains limited, with less than 10% implementation in the US and 23% in Europe and Asia. The partnership between these industry leaders aims to accelerate global adoption of AI-enhanced diagnostic solutions.
Marc Newman, Head of Commercialisation at FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe, stated: “This new partnership for Fujifilm and Ibex helps to strengthen not only our solution offerings, but most importantly to support Pathologists to deliver better patient care with faster, more accurate diagnosis.”
Stuart Shand, Chief Commercial Officer at Ibex Medical Analytics, added: “Ibex is committed to ensuring our customers can easily integrate our AI tools into their diagnostic workflows, helping them to provide accurate and timely cancer diagnoses to their patients.”
Technical capabilities and validation
Ibex’s AI-powered solutions detect cancer and over 100 diagnostic features across multiple tissue types, developed from rich datasets from multiple pathology institutes using deep learning technologies trained by expert pathologists.
The combined solution promises reduced error rates, increased operational efficiency, enhanced diagnostic accuracy, and improved user experience through streamlined image analysis and remote collaboration capabilities.
The SYNAPSE Pathology solution maintains an open-platform, vendor-neutral approach, supporting pathology services with cost-effective integration whilst future-proofing digital pathology investments.
