NPIC AI FORGE: A Unique Multi-Scanner Digital Pathology Testbed for Artificial Intelligence Development and Evaluation
AI FORGE (Facilitating Opportunities for Robust Generalisable data Emulation) at NPIC is the UK’s first, multi-scanner facility designed to support the development and evaluation of robust artificial intelligence tools for digital pathology.
Housed within a working NHS hospital and operated by the National Pathology Imaging Co-operative (NPIC), AI FORGE provides a unique platform to replicate and analyse whole slide images across a broad range of scanning systems. This supports research into scanner variability, AI generalisability, image quality, and diagnostic performance.
Our infrastructure is built for scale and designed to enable reproducible, high-quality digital pathology research.
What We Do
AI FORGE provides essential infrastructure to support:
– High-throughput scanning of pathology slides for research and algorithm development
– Image replication across multiple whole slide imaging (WSI) systems
– Side-by-side scanner performance comparison and benchmarking
– Quality-controlled image generation for AI evaluation
– Algorithm robustness testing and validation
– Dataset development for training and clinical translation
We work with academic, clinical, and industry collaborators to explore how algorithm performance is influenced by imaging hardware, staining variation, compression, colour profiles, and artefact control.
Scanning Capabilities
AI FORGE hosts 15 scanners from 9 different vendors. Our systems include:
– Leica: GT450 (x2), AT2
– Roche: DP200, DP600
– Hamamatsu: S360MD, S60, S60v2, S20
– 3DHistech: P250 Flash
– Olympus: VS200
– Objective Imaging: Glissando
– OptraSCAN: OS-Ultra
– Grundium: Ocus
– Akoya Biosciences: PhenoImager HT
Slides can be scanned in brightfield and fluorescence, across magnifications from 10x to 60x, and using 1”×3” or 2”×3” formats. Z-stacking and high-throughput image capture are available across multiple systems.
With continuous loading workflows and integrated tracking, the facility can generate ~4,000 whole slide images per day, equating to over 7TB of data daily.
Quality and Technical Assurance
All scanned images undergo rigorous quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA), following ISO 15189-aligned protocols. Image artefacts and failure reasons are categorised and tracked, contributing to both image refinement and AI algorithm training.
We also scan standardised control slides and in-house developed phantoms for longitudinal quality assessment and system calibration.
Digital Infrastructure
AI FORGE connects directly to NPIC’s secure, cloud-hosted research environment. Our data systems include:
– 2PB expandable SSD and Isilon storage
– 10Gb/s networking and image ingestion
– HALO Link research image management system (RIMS)
– GPU-powered AI analysis using NVIDIA GPU infrastructure
– Medical-grade displays and high-performance workstations
Our infrastructure allows for flexible data management, secure analysis, and scalable AI experimentation in compliance with ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISO 27017 standards. Click here for more information on NPIC’s FORGE Scanning Platforms
Click here for more information on NPIC’s FORGE Scanning Platforms
Dr Matt Humphries – Research Operations Manager
‘AI offers the potential for a revolution in pathology. The accuracy of algorithms applied to pathology images is largely dependent on the size and quality of the datasets used to train the model. The creation of generalised AI tools ideally requires whole slide images obtained from different institutions, a range of digital scanning platforms at the same magnification, a selection of staining platforms and across multiple batches. NPIC’s AI FORGE is uniquely and ideally placed to meet those needs’.
Dr Darren Treanor – NPIC Director
‘The ability to replicate images across multiple scanning platforms will open a huge opportunity to improve AI in digital pathology. We will be able to map differences between data sets across systems, and measure the impact instruments have on the performance of AI tools. We can quality control each digital pathology system to specific calibration settings, ensuring the creation of robust and reliable multi-instrument data for the training of AI models. To our knowledge, this is the only such digital pathology facility in the world’.
Team
The AI FORGE team includes NHS-trained biomedical scientists, image analysts, and research specialists with expertise in histopathology, scanner operation, and digital infrastructure. The wider NPIC team provides technical, operational, and project delivery support.
Further Enquiries
If you would like connect and learn more about our scanning facility please get in touch.
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