Digital microscopy project piloted for rural healthcare

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Digital microscopy technology developed for use with livestock is being adapted to increase access to diagnostic testing in rural and remote populations.

Greg Mirams, founder of Techion, is speaking at Digital Health Week this December 2-5 about a new project being piloted early next year, to bring digital microscopy tools used in agriculture, into the healthcare sector.

Techion’s FECPAKG2 diagnostic platform already helps farmers with on-site diagnostic testing to manage livestock health.

The team is now working in collaboration with Microsoft, Aware and Awanui Labs, New Zealand’s largest pathology services provider, to adapt the technology for human healthcare.

Mirams says this could really improve diagnostic capabilities for rural communities that suffer from a lack of locally available, skilled laboratory professionals.

“We have people that live in remote areas that need diagnostic information to make decisions about health and treatment and that goes for human health as well as agriculture,” he says.

Mirams says one of the challenges in rural diagnostics is that as testing infrastructure moves to a more centralised urban based lab model for the majority of diagnostic tests, this can create delays and degradation risks for samples send from rural areas.

Mirams says this creates inequities and means many rural patients have to wait longer for results or travel long distances for tests.

Techion’s platform, already used in rural veterinary clinics, allows diagnostic samples such as faecal samples to be inserted and digitised, instantly uploading the data for analysis by AI or remote clinicians to assess parasite burdens. 

The idea is to now extend this capability to include a range of microscopy tests to service local health clinics.

“If we can digitise things, it will change workflows because we can do things like direct digital images to other locations if regional staff are unavailable,” he explains.

“Clinicians can also work part-time from home, rather than leaving the workforce altogether.”

The new platform will be piloted from March 2025, starting with tests for sterile fluids, with plans to gradually expand to other types of diagnostics such as haematology. 

“We are starting with a minimum viable product and then we add layers,” Mirams explains.

“We are on a journey, but I am excited about what we can bring to the table, and we have excited some major partners to join that vision.”

Microsoft New Zealand managing director Vanessa Sorenson says Microsoft is working closely with Techion to explore use cases with health providers around the world and build out its capabilities.

“I absolutely love this story. Techion is a fantastic example of local Kiwi innovation that could change the world, and we want to do everything we can to support that. Just addressing health inequities and specialist shortages in Aotearoa is amazing enough, but imagine the impact of that being expanded across healthcare globally, into other areas of diagnostics and treatment as well. This is just the start she says.

Hear Greg Mirams speak on Thursday Dec 5 at Digital Health Week in Hamilton. See the programme online.

Image: Greg Mirams, founder of Techion

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