Breaking new ground in the pathology research market, i-Path's TMA Toolbox is the only Software as a Service (SaaS) tissue microarray solution. The toolbox, an online application allowing web-based management and scoring of tissue microarrays, makes TMA experiments quick to set up and run, convenient to access, easily scalable and secure. TMA Toolbox is currently being used for projects to identify predictive biomarkers for non-small cell carcinoma of the lung and melanomas.
Project Lead at i-Path Dr Fiona Browne explains "Listening to TMA researchers, the same frustrations and challenges are frequently raised for example scoring TMAs is mundane work, it is so easy to lose one's place on the slide, sharing slides means posting slides which is time consuming and costly, the slides are prone to break, the administrator has to receive and sift through a number of paper based reports to collate the scores. The TMA Toolbox removes these difficulties which means the researcher can work more quickly and easily. The researcher does not even have to be in the lab, they can simply log onto the internet and start work on the TMA experiment. Working online they can collaborate with other researchers across the globe by sharing TMA slides and whole slides."
i-Path's Chief Scientist Professor Peter Hamilton says, "i-Path involved the company's network of TMA researchers throughout the design of the software to ensure the application replicates the steps routinely followed by the researcher. As a result, using the TMA Toolbox is intuitive and easy to use."
Developed within PathXL, i-Path's web-based Content Management System for viewing and storing Virtual Slides, the TMA Toolbox shares PathXL's core features:
- Fully managed service with dedicated customer support
- Low cost options for project based research studies
- Secure archiving of whole slides and TMAs
- Speedy upload of digital slides to i-Path's storage solution.
- Fast serving and viewing of digital slide images
- User-friendly interface
- Slide scanning services for customers without a scanner
- Storage of metadata
Angela Wilson, Sales Manager at i-Path comments "i-Path offers flexible licensing agreements for the TMA toolbox, which can be purchased on a per project basis. The licensing model suits the fast paced, high throughput research labs who require, specialist, flexible, scalable lab systems."
i-Path CEO Stuart Harvey adds "The launch of the TMA toolbox shows i-Path's commitment to pathologists in the Research Lab. While i-Path is renowned for providing digital pathology services to the pathology education market, we are keen to expand our product offering in the pathology research market, adding to our already successful development of image analysis algorithms and digital archiving of biomarker tissue samples."
About i-Path
i-Path specialises in creating virtual microscopy software for use in education, research, clinical trials, consultation networks, MDT meetings and EQAs. Created by pathologists for pathologists, i-Path offers a range of solutions from slide scanning services to a fully managed hosted solution.