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VitaDX and MEDIPATH collaborate to deploy VisioCyt®, an innovative solution for the early diagnosis of bladder cancer

5 July 2022

VitaDX – a deeptech healthcare company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence and image processing in cytology – announces its collaboration with MEDIPATH – a French group of independent pathologists – to deploy VisioCyt®, a solution for the early diagnosis of bladder cancer, the 5th most common cancer in France.

Founded in 2015 in Rennes, France, VitaDX develops software solutions for early cancer diagnosis combining imaging and artificial intelligence (AI). Its first solution, VisioCyt®, was specifically designed for pathologists and urologists to facilitate the early detection of bladder cancer.

This tool allows an accelerated morphological analysis of all cells present on a digitized urine cytology, in a reliable and reproducible way (no interpretation bias, exhaustive analysis of all cells present, …). It relies on artificial intelligence (machine learning and deep learning) and image processing to facilitate the early detection of bladder cancer.

A partnership with a major player in oncology in France

Founded in 1999 in Fréjus, MEDIPATH specializes in locally based diagnostics and expertise in oncology. Today, the medical company comprises of 110 pathologists and more than 580 employees, spread over 30 geographical sites, who process over 1.5 million cases each year, including 140,000 cancer diagnoses.

Aiming to develop a more efficient expertise, MEDIPATH has been focusing on innovative devices from the very beginning. Thus, doctors already routinely use an AI-based diagnostic tool for prostate biopsies.

Today, thanks to this partnership with VitaDX, MEDIPATH’s doctors will also be able to rely on an innovative and highly efficient solution to provide a more accurate cytological diagnosis for bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer develops from the cells of the mucosa (urothelial epithelium). In France, it is the 5th most common cause of cancer and the 2nd most common urological cancer, with an increase in incidence of 1% per year (nearly 45,000 new cases each year).

A clinically proven solution

In 2017, VitaDX launched a large clinical trial, named VisioCyt1, on 1,360 patients recruited from 14 hospitals throughout France: the Foch Hospital, Cochin, CHP Antony, CHU Rennes, CHU Clermont Ferrand, HCL Lyon, Clinique Chataigneraie, CH Toulouse, the Paoli-Calmettes Institute in Marseille, CHU Nancy, CH Nantes, CH Nîmes, CH Besançon, Clinique Beausoleil Montpellier.

The results of this multicentric strudy, finalized in January 2021, confirmed the effectiveness of the deployed solution with an overall sensitivity of over 81% (much higher than that of conventional urinary cytology with a 45% sensitivity), 66.7% versus 25.4% for low grades and finally, 93.7% versus 61.3% for high grades.

A valuable tool, for healthcare professionals and patients

By being fully integrated into the current care pathway and laboratory workflow, VisioCyt® makes it possible to obtain a qualified analysis from a simple urine sample in just a few minutes, and thus offers considerable advantages on two levels:

  • for urologists, it provides faster, more reliable and more reproducible results, making it possible to orient and adapt patient care, in terms of primary diagnosis and follow-up, thus further optimizing the chances of survival.
  • for the patient, it allows an earlier and more personalized care pathway, especially for the follow-up of patients with a high risk of recurrence.

“Our priority is personalized patient care and to be at the forefront of innovation in the world of diagnostics by making it accessible to both physicians and healthcare institutions. The use of artificial intelligence in the field of pathology is one of these innovations that will contribute to the transformation of our profession for the benefit of patients. Our partnership with VitaDX is fully in line with our daily commitment to be at the highest level of excellence and expertise in oncology diagnostics, especially in bladder cancer” said Dr. Olivier Vire, President of the MEDIPATH group.

“We are very pleased to partner with one of the major players in the field of pathology to allow urologists to benefit from accurate and reliable cytology results for patients affected by this public health issue that is bladder cancer,” said Allan Rodriguez, CEO of VitaDX. “The large-scale use of VisioCyt® will reduce costs for the healthcare system by providing earlier patient care and an adaptation of patient follow-up. We are working towards this end with other ongoing clinical trials and we collaborate on a daily basis with pathologists, urologists, learned societies such as the French Urology Association (AFU) as well as all the stakeholders involved in bladder cancer patient care.”

About VitaDX

Founded in 2015 to exploit patented work from French institutional research, conducted by researchers from the Institute of Molecular Sciences of Orsay (ISMO, UMR CNRS and University of Paris-Sud) and practitioners from the CHU Bicêtre (AP-HP), VitaDX, a deep tech based in Rennes and Paris, develops and markets cancer diagnostic solutions combining artificial intelligence and image processing applied to cytology. The company’s mission is to develop innovative cancer diagnostic solutions that are more efficient, more reliable and have a significant impact on medical and economic systems to benefit the greatest number of patients.