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Software helps health professionals count cells and analyze colours

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PathCore Inc. is one of the five semi-finalists in the Small Business Challenge Contest, sponsored by The Globe and Mail and Telus Corp. The company gives pathologists a tool for analyzing biopsied tissue to determine the presence of cancer cells. Dan Hosseinzadeh, above, co-founded the company four years ago with Anne Martel, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s medical biophysics department and senior scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.Matthew Sherwood/The Globe and Mail

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PathCore’s software uses image-analysis algorithms that provide precise measures of the indicators of cancer. “We free pathologists from the tedious job of actually counting cells or having to assess just how red or brown a sample is, which you won’t get a hundred per cent agreement on anyway,” Mr. Hosseinzadeh says. “Our solution ... doesn’t say if you have cancer or not, but it provides accurate quantitative information that enables a pathologist to provide diagnoses based on hard statistics.”JENNIFER ROBERTS/The Globe and Mail

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There’s a tedious precision in the pathology work used to diagnose disease and help doctors prescribe the right course of treatment. Peering through the lens of a microscope, clinical pathologists may need to count cells, assess the density of nuclei and make a call on the aggressiveness of certain proteins based on colour intensity of tissue after a stain has been applied.A. Elizabeth Plott/The Canadian Press

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In addition to its image analysis software, PathCore has built a technology platform that allows healthcare professionals to view and manage pathology data. PathCore’s platform, which integrates seamlessly with existing hospital and lab technology, lets authorized users sign on to a secure online portal to view, share and add notes to pathology images.Matthew Sherwood/The Globe and Mail

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PathCore, which generates about $1-million in annual revenue, is also working on a cloud platform that will reduce the burden of technology infrastructure management in hospitals and labs and create economies of scale for PathCore users. A cloud-based platform would also allow PathCore to provide its solutions via the Web to pathology laboratories around the world, Mr. Hosseinzadeh says.JENNIFER ROBERTS/The Globe and Mail

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