I-Path has unveiled the TMA Toolbox, a software-as-a-service tissue microarray solution that is being used to identify predictive biomarkers for non-small cell carcinoma of the lung and melanomas.
The toolbox boosts the company's existing portfolio of digital pathology services to the research market, which includes the bespoke development of image analysis algorithms and digital archiving of biomarker tissue samples.
The TMA Toolbox is an online application allowing web-based management and scoring of tissue microarrays and is said to make TMA experiments quick to set up and run, convenient to access, easily scalable and secure.
Dr Fiona Browne, project lead at I-Path, said: '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; and 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,' she added.
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, including: 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; and storage of metadata.
I-Path offers flexible licensing agreements for the TMA Toolbox, which can be purchased on a per-project basis.
