Techcyte and Aignostics preview automated tissue microarray workflow with Epredia

Techcyte says it is working with Aignostics and Epredia to connect digital pathology and automated tissue microarray tools into a single research workflow. The planned integration could help researchers more precisely core confirmed regions from whole-slide images for tissue microarrays or DNA extraction.

Why it matters: - The planned workflow could reduce manual tissue coring, which can risk misplaced or damaged samples. - The integration is aimed at making tissue microarray preparation and sequencing workflows more precise and traceable. - The companies are targeting research use, including biomarker studies and tumor sequencing.

What happened: - Techcyte announced a collaboration with Aignostics to connect their technologies into an automated research workflow. - The integration is in advanced development. - The planned system connects Techcyte Fusion AP, Aignostics' H&E spatial profiling product HETA, and the 3DHISTECH TMA Grand Master, which Epredia exclusively distributes in the U.S. - Techcyte said the first phase of development will be presented at Pathology Visions 2026. - Techcyte and Epredia will be at Pathology Visions 2026, with Techcyte at booth 410 and Epredia at booth 301.

The details: - A pathologist or researcher would digitally mark and confirm coring regions of interest on a whole-slide image of the donor block in Fusion AP. - The regions would be exported as DICOM annotations with the DICOM image and retrieved by TMA Control, the Grand Master's software. - TMA Control would overlay the annotated slide on the donor block image, core at the confirmed sites, and record each core against its slide and block. - Cores could go into recipient blocks for a tissue microarray or into tubes for DNA extraction. - The hand-off would use the same DICOM path Fusion AP already uses for scanner images and AI results. - The first phase will move DICOM images and ROI annotations from Fusion AP to the Grand Master. - Techcyte Fusion AP and Aignostics products are for Research Use Only in the United States and are not for diagnostic procedures. - Techcyte Fusion is for Research Use Only in the United States.

Between the lines: - The integration tries to connect three steps that often sit apart in labs: digital review, AI-assisted region selection, and physical coring. - Techcyte is positioning pathologist review as the control point, with AI-proposed coring sites serving as a starting point rather than an endpoint. - Epredia is signaling continued investment in automated 3DHISTECH TMA platforms and the broader TMA workflow.

What's next: - The companies will show the planned integrated TMA workflow at Pathology Visions 2026. - Researchers attending the conference can speak with the teams about tissue preparation, digital scanning, and AI-assisted analysis. - The next technical milestone appears to be completing the DICOM image and ROI annotation transfer between Fusion AP and the Grand Master.

The bottom line: - If completed, the integration could make tissue microarray coring more automated, more traceable, and less dependent on manual slide-to-block transfer.