Digital Pathology Market

Digital Pathology Market Overview

The digital pathology market is estimated to be worth $0.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. Pathology is a subfield of medical science that primarily focuses on the nature, genesis and cause of a disease. Further, pathology forms an essential component of diagnostic pathways established for multiple disease indications, especially cancer detection. In fact, 70-80% of the total healthcare decisions involved in either diagnosis or treatment of ailments require a pathological assessment. Further, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), by 2040, 27 million new cancer cases are expected to be reported annually. This rise in cancer cases, coupled to the rapidly ageing global population, is expected to lead to a substantial increase in the pathology workload. However, as the demand for professional pathologists continues to increase, the number of active pathologists in the field is diminishing over time. As per a recent study, a 30% decline in the number of active pathologists is expected to be observed by 2030, as compared to the number of such professionals in 2010. Moreover, 63.2% of the currently active pathologists are anticipated to retire in the next 10 years. Furthermore, it is projected that a substantial disparity (close to 30%) between the expected demand for pathology services and supply of pathologists is likely to be witnessed by the year 2030.

Amidst the ever-growing demand for pathology services, the simultaneous use of technological advances to automate and digitize healthcare procedures is growing. These developments have accelerated research and clinical diagnosis, as well as enhanced patient outcomes, in the recent years. Specifically, AI-powered digital imaging is one such technology, which has revolutionized the pathology industry by enabling high-throughput scanning of patient samples. To provide more context, AI-based digital pathology / AI pathology involves collection, management, analyzing and sharing of data (via digital slides) in a digital setting. Through this process, digital slides are created by scanning conventional glass slides with a scanning device, which may be seen on a computer screen or a mobile device and offer a high-resolution digital image. Further, AI pathology technique presents a viable solution to managing the growing pathology workload, while also ensuring more rapid and consistent diagnostic services and research activities. Moreover, AI-powered digital pathology solutions (digital pathology scanners and digital pathology software) allow pathologists to examine more cases and offer a precise diagnosis. It is worth highlighting that digitized workflows can speed up processing times, lower administrative errors, enable remote collaboration and boost productivity, thereby, allowing significant cost savings. Experts believe that there has been a significant rise in the revenue generation potential within digital pathology market. This is further supported by the significant investments being made in this industry. Since 2016, funding received by digital pathology firms have surpassed USD 1.6 billion, with majority of amount being raised in the year 2021. Additionally, it is worth highlighting that in September 2023, 3DHISTECH and Epredia have collaborated to launch a pathology innovation incubator aimed at speeding up progress in cancer diagnostics. Considering the rising popularity and demand for such solutions in the healthcare and research industry, and the ongoing efforts of AI-based digital pathology companies to further improve / expand their respective portfolios, we believe that the AI-based digital pathology market is likely to witness a steady market growth, during the forecast period.

Key Companies in Digital Pathology Market

Examples of key AI-based digital pathology companies engaged in digital pathology market (which have also been profiled in this market report; the complete list of AI-based digital pathology companies is available in the full report) include Aiforia Technologies, Akoya Biosciences, Ibex Medical Analytics, Indica Labs, Paige, PathAI, PROSCIA, Roche Tissue Diagnostics and Visiopharm. This market report includes an easily searchable excel database of all the AI-based digital pathology companies, worldwide.

Recent Developments in Digital Pathology Market

Several recent developments have taken place in the field of digital pathology market. We have outlined some of these recent initiatives below. These developments, even if they took place post the release of our market report, substantiate the overall market trends that have been outlined in our analysis.

• In August 2023, Paige collaborated with Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in order to study AI tools utilizing Paige Prostate Detect, the only FDA approved AI tool in pathology for detecting prostate cancer. 
• In June 2023, Mindpeak, entered into a partnership with Proscia to broaden its access to improved diagnosis for cancer patients by utilizing AI-base pathology.
• In May 2023, Paige announced a new advanced integration capabilities to strengthen its web-based solution built for AI having capability to enable complete digital pathology workflows and supports the evolving needs of modern labs.

Scope of the Report

The “AI-based Digital Pathology Market by Type of Neural Network (Artificial Neural Network, Convolutional Neural Network, Fully Convolutional Network, Recurrent Neural Network and Other Neural Networks), Type of Assay (ER Assay, HER2 Assay, Ki67 Assay, PD-L1 Assay, PR Assay and Other Type of Assays), Type of End-user (Academic Institutions, Hospitals / Healthcare Institutions, Laboratories / Diagnostic Institutions, Research Institutes and Other End-users), Area of Application (Diagnostics, Research and Other Areas of Application), Target Disease Indication (Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer and Other Indications) and Key Geographies (North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa and Rest of the World): Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2022-2035” market report features an extensive study of the current market landscape, market size, market forecast and future opportunities for the AI-based digital pathology market. The market research report features an in-depth analysis, highlighting the capabilities of various stakeholders engaged in providing AI-based digital pathology.

Amongst other elements, the market research report features:

• An executive summary of the insights captured during our research. It offers a high-level view on the current state of AI-based digital pathology market and its likely evolution in the mid-long term.
• A general introduction to AI-based digital pathology, featuring information on artificial intelligence in digital pathology, workflow of AI-based digital pathology, applications of AI-based digital pathology solutions in the healthcare domain. Additionally, the chapter includes details on the various regulatory requirements related to AI-based digital pathology. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the challenges, key growth drivers and future perspectives associated with the use of AI in digital pathology.
• A detailed assessment of the overall market landscape of AI-based digital pathology companies, based on several relevant parameters, such as geographical reach, year of establishment, company size (in terms of number of employees), location of headquarters (country-wise and continent-wise), type of product (hardware and software), type of service (automated image analysis, image management, vendor agnostic, cloud-based solution, whole slide imaging, laboratory information system, hospital information system and picture archiving and communication system), type of feature (prognostic algorithms, predictive algorithms and multi-modal fusion algorithms), additional features (customizability, scalability and deployment options), area of application (diagnosis and research use), target disease indication, type of assay, type of end-user (research institutes, academic institutions, hospitals / healthcare institutions, laboratories / diagnostic institutions, others) and information on number of available software. 
• An in-depth analysis, highlighting the contemporary market trends, including [A] distribution based on type of service and area of application, [B] distribution based on type of feature and area of application, [C] distribution based on type of product and area of application, [D] type of product and location of headquarters, as well as [E] an insightful hybrid representation of AI-based digital pathology companies based on company size and location of headquarters.
• Elaborate profiles of various prominent AI-based digital pathology companies that are engaged in offering services related to AI-based digital pathology. Each profile features a brief overview of the company (including information on year of establishment, number of employees, location of headquarters and management team) and details related to recent developments and an informed future outlook.
• A company competitive analysis of various AI-based digital pathology companies engaged in digital pathology market. It highlights the capabilities of industry players (in terms of their expertise across various services related to AI-based digital pathology). The analysis allows companies to compare their existing capabilities within and beyond their peer groups and identify opportunities to gain a competitive edge in the industry. The chapter also includes benchmarking of industry players engaged in this domain based on their portfolio strength (type of product, type of service, type of feature, additional features, area of application and type of end-user) and funding activity (number of funding instances and funding amount).
• An analysis of the funding and investments made within digital pathology market, during the period 2016-2022, based on several relevant parameters, such as number of instances, amount invested, type of funding, area of application, geography and information on most active players engaged in the AI-based digital pathology domain. 
• An elaborate analysis in order to estimate the current and future demand for AI-based digital pathology, based on several relevant parameters, such as geography (North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, MENA and Rest of the World) and end-users (hospitals, research and other end-users). 

The key objective of this market report is to provide a detailed market forecast analysis in order to estimate the existing market size and future opportunity for AI-based digital pathology market in the short to mid-term and long term, over the forecast period 2022-2035. Further, the year-wise projections of the current and future opportunity have been segmented based on several relevant parameters, such as type of neural network (artificial neural network, convolutional neural network, fully convolutional network, recurrent neural network and other neural networks), type of assay (ER assay, HER2 assay, Ki67 assay, PD-L1 assay, PR assay and other type of assays), type of end-user (academic institutions, hospitals / healthcare institutions, laboratories / diagnostic institutions, research institutes and other end-users), area of application (diagnostics, research and other areas of application), target disease indication (breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and other indications) and key geographies (North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa and Rest of the World). In order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three market forecast scenarios, namely conservative, base and optimistic scenarios, which represent different tracks of the industry’s growth. 

All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums. Financial figures mentioned in this market report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: How much funding has been raised in AI in digital pathology market?

Answer: Since 2016, funding received by digital pathology firms have surpassed USD 1.6 billion, with majority of amount being raised in the year 2021.

Question 2: Which geographies are key hubs for AI in digital pathology companies?

Answer: North America is the hub for AI in digital pathology companies, with nearly 40% of the companies based in the region.

Question 3: Which type of end users are primarily employing AI in digital pathology in their regular workflow?

Answer: More than 70% of the AI in digital pathology companies provide their services to research institutes.

Question 4: The AI in digital pathology market size is estimated to be worth $0.7 billion in 2022.

Answer: The AI in digital pathology market is expected to grow at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% during the forecast period 2022 - 2023.

Question 5: Who are the leading players in AI in digital pathology market offering AI in digital pathology / AI pathology solutions?

Answer: Examples of key companies engaged in AI in Digital Pathology market (which have also been profiled in this market report; the complete list of companies is available in the full report) include Aiforia Technologies, Akoya Biosciences, Ibex Medical Analytics, Indica Labs, Paige, PathAI, PROSCIA, Roche Tissue Diagnostics and Visiopharm.

Question 6: What is digital pathology?

Answer: Digital pathology is a technique within pathology which incorporates the use of digitization of the specimen slides followed by analysis of the digital images.

Question 7: How big is the AI in digital pathology market?

Answer: The AI in digital pathology market size is estimated to be worth $0.7 billion in 2022.