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Pathware
Pathware (formerly MedKairos) is an early stage medical device (biotechnology) company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company was founded in 2017 by Michael Moore and Jaron Nix. Pathware's hardware product is Bioptic™, a lab tool for whole slide imaging, and cloud-based software for automated cytopathology (samples smeared on a glass slide) testing. The whole system provides real-time tissue image analysis in order to verify the quality of the collected biopsy. Pathware is simplifying digital pathology workflows and reducing the rate of repeat procedures by creating a standardized process for Rapid Onsite Evaluation of cytology samples.

History
The company was started by Michael Moore during his time as a medical student at the University of Michigan. After two years of in-depth market assessment through entrepreneurial programs such as Fast Forward Medical Innovation’s fastPACE and VentureWell’s E-Teams and ASPIRE, Michael decided to leave his medical education in October of 2017 to pursue Pathware full-time.

Pathware’s primary focus is to address the challenge that 20-25% of fine needle biopsies fail to return a diagnosis. Michael Moore’s was first faced with this problem when his father had to go through three biopsies that were all inconclusive before they ended up performing surgery to come to a diagnosis on the table. “They don’t know what typically is in the needle when doing the biopsy and the patients have to come back and do another one,” Moore said. He started Pathware to prevent repeated procedures with an automated tool for biopsy quality assurance, to make it effective for pathologists and less stressful for patients. The company currently employs 4 full-time professionals and has offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Seattle, Washington. In 2019, Pathware conducted beta trials in Michigan Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Henry Ford Health Systemsl  and  Mount Sinai Hospital. They have also received an award in Health and Wearable category of   SXSW Pitch 2019.

Technology
In the industry of cancer diagnostics, a biopsy sample must pass through numerous clinical procedures, which incur time costs and hamper the workflow. Pathware solves this problem by creating an automated point-of-care hardware. This is a mobile lab tool with a digital microscope, and cloud-based slide management software for pathologists with minimal training required.

Before the patient’s discharge, a quality sample can be determined by using the Bioptic unit. Once the unstained slide is placed in the unit, a whole slide image is captured and assessed to return a biopsy quality judgment in under two minutes. This quality review protocol will verify that a viable biopsy sample was collected. Pathware software identifies physical characteristics and the quantity of the tissue, and automatically shows the pathologist that the biopsy procedure successfully extracted enough of a sample to yield a diagnosis. If a sample is unsuitable for diagnosis, the clinician can simply take a second sample on the spot, so the patient doesn’t have to come back for further testing. Pathware primarily focuses on thyroid biopsies with future development of lung and breast biopsy testing.