LISBURN medical diagnostics business Cirdan has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Belfast-based digital imaging analysis and software company Path XL from its Dutch owners Philips.
The two companies have enjoyed a close working relationship over many years, and the move will allow Cirdan to further enhance its laboratory informatics business.
Founded as i-Path in 2004 within the Department of Pathology Informatics at Queen's University by Professor Peter Hamilton and Dr Jim Diamond, PathXL grew into a global pioneer in the use of technology to analyse cancerous cells.
Purchased by Philips in 2016, Philips PathXL’s digital pathology, image analysis, deep learning and educational tools will complement Cirdan’s existing offering.
Its new owners Cirdan says the synergies of both products and staff will significantly enhance opportunities to serve their customers across the world.
Cirdan - which has well as its Lisburn headquarters has offices in Canada and Australia - specialises in developing technology that supports and speeds up diagnosis, primarily used by those working in pathology.
Its main products are ULTRA, a laboratory information system which supports the operations of multiple public and private labs across the world, and CoreLite, an x-ray system that helps expedite breast cancer diagnosis.
Cirdan chief executive Dr Hugh Cormican said: “We are excited by the prospect of being able to further invest in our laboratory informatics business with this acquisition.
“We have shared a close relationship with key members of the PathXL team over many years and are looking forward to combining our products and resources to bring the best of each to the industry.
“It has been our long-term vision for our products to be global technological leaders, and with the addition of PathXL we will be able to accelerate the inclusion of deep learning and digital pathology technology.”
PathXL offers a range of digital pathology software applications for research and education addressing growing segments of the pathology market including bio-pharma.
Deep learning is a form of artificial Intelligence (AI) that focuses on solving real world problems from deep neural networks that mimic the way our brain makes decisions.
