NEWS AI solution
enhances bladder cancer detection
US diagnostic firm CorePlus has announced the implementation of AIxURO, a state-of-the-art software solution that utilises artificial intelligence to significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of bladder cancer detection. The innovative platform enhances
traditional urine cytology analysis, providing faster, more precise diagnostics. The result of a collaboration with AIxMed, a healthcare firm developing AI technologies, AIxURO joins CorePlus’s portfolio of precision diagnostic tools and underscores the company’s commitment to addressing critical health challenges through advanced technology. AIxURO is designed to address the challenges associated with conventional urine cytology by leveraging AI to pre-screen and identify suspicious and atypical cells. The software analyses whole slide images and presents abnormal cells in a streamlined gallery view, following The Paris System for reporting urinary cytology. By combining qualitative morphology with quantitative metrics, AIxURO assists pathologists in making more confident diagnostic decisions, which can lead to earlier and more effective patient treatment. “This achievement represents the culmination of over two years of dedicated collaboration and innovation. Through persistence and precision, our teams have developed and integrated an AI algorithm that meets the highest standards for clinical use,” said Mariano de Socarraz, Founder and CEO of CorePlus. A key benefit of the AIxURO platform
is its ability to reduce diagnostic review time by 50-80%, accelerating the delivery of results. By analysing non-invasive urine samples with high accuracy, it also reduces the need for frequent and invasive cystoscopy procedures.
Project trials finger-prick blood test for Alzheimer’s
A major international research project, led by the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, is underway to test whether a finger prick-style blood test could be used to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The trial is looking at three proteins in the blood that are associated with Alzheimer’s and comparing this with current approached which use brain scans and invasive procedures. The finger prick test uses a simple plasma separation card which makes testing a lot cheaper and easier to carry out. It does not need to be refrigerated and can be stored and shipped to a laboratory for analysis at ambient temperature. If successful, the test could offer a
scalable, accessible and cost-effective way to screen for the disease which could enable earlier intervention, with a beter chance of delaying the progress of Alzheimer’s or the development of symptoms. The finger prick test will be run as a part of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP)’s Bio-Hermes-002 study, which is aimed at advancing Alzheimer’s
disease diagnosis using blood and digital biomarkers. GAP is working in partnership with the not-for-profit medical research organisation, LifeArc, and UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) with its Biomarker Factory. To date, GAP has enrolled 883 of the 1000 participants from 25 sites across the UK, USA and Canada. This includes a mix of cognitively normal people, those with mild cognitive impairment and some with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Out of this group, over 360 have completed the test. Researchers will analyse each sample
for proteins in the blood, also known as blood-based biomarkers of the disease – phosphorylated tau 217(pTau217), Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Neurofilament light polypeptide (NfL) – and compare the results with a variety of other tests being developed for Alzheimer’s disease based on blood-based and digital biomarkers (such as speech tests, retinal scans, cognitive tests) as well as the gold standard PET scans and MRI scans. The trial is expected to complete in 2028.
CEO appointed for HDRS
Healthcare industry innovator Dr Melanie Ivarsson OBE has been announced as the first Chief Executive Officer of the new Health Data Research Service (HDRS), which is backed by up to £600 million in funding from the government and Wellcome. Dr Ivarsson brings a wealth of expertise in healthcare innovation and industry, having led the clinical trials that produced one of the world’s first COVID-19 vaccines at Moderna – for which she was awarded an OBE. She has also held senior roles at pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Takeda and has a strong research background, conducting post- doctoral research at New York University in the US and Lund University in Sweden. The HDRS will streamline processes for
approved researchers in both commercial and academic sectors to develop new medicines and therapies, while upholding rigorous safeguards for data security, privacy and ethical oversight. Currently, obtaining health data can be slow, complex and fragmented but the
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WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM February 2026
HDRS will slash red tape and provide a secure single access point to national-scale datasets. This will give patients beter access to new treatments and technologies and could set the UK on a path to cure conditions including cancer, dementia and arthritis quicker. Dr Melanie Ivarsson OBE,
incoming HDRS CEO, commented: “I am delighted to join HDRS as its first CEO. Having seen firsthand what we can achieve when health and care data is utilised for research, I’m excited to work across the four nations of the UK and with partners across the life sciences ecosystem to turn the HDRS ambition into reality.” The HDRS brings access to data for
medical research into one secure and easy-to-use location, meaning a researcher does not have to navigate different systems or make multiple applications for information for the same project. Patient confidentiality will continue to be held to a gold standard – with rigorous security measures being in place to ensure no-one’s health data is compromised.
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