FFEI launch Sierra Validate & Standardise Profiler
Sierra Validate & Standardise Profiler enables practitioners to apply an ICC profile to all images generated by a particular Digital Pathology scanning device – providing confidence in colour accuracy.
November 8th 2021 – FFEI Ltd, the global developer of award-winning digital imaging solutions, today announced the launch of Sierra Validate & Standardise (VS) Profiler. Building on the success of the patented Sierra colour calibration technology, this is the latest product available within the portfolio. Sierra VS-Profiler, advancing from the Sierra VS-Analyser tool, enables digital pathologists, toxicologic specialists, QA technicians and software developers to take control of the colour accuracy of the scanning devices used – ensuring raw digital data remains digitally unaltered and of true colour.
Organisations and professionals in the fields of digital pathology and pharmaceutical development, are motivated by the need to demonstrate and adhere to process control for quality and regulatory purposes. The same applies to the growing AI industry and application of algorithms in automated diagnostics. With an increasing reliance placed onto Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) devices, addressing the variation in colour that different devices can create is critical when good process control is needed.
The Sierra VS-Profiler package comprises of a Sierra slide and proprietary software that will generate a high accuracy ICC profile, complying with International Color Consortium guidelines, and numerical output for end-user analytics. Specifically, the Sierra VS-Profiler package enables the accuracy of a given scanner to be measured, using a slide with stained patches that mimic stained tissue colour characteristics. The scan of this slide, on a specific scanner, is then compared to the known ground truth colour of the slide – reporting on the variance of each stained colour patch induced by the scanner. A unique ICC profile is then generated for that device to be integrated into manufacturing, QA process, AI systems and other workflows. The use of this ICC profile enables all images created from a specific scanner to remain standardised and of ground truth colour.
Speaking on the importance of Sierra VS-Profiler Dr Rick Salmon, Head of Life Science at FFEI, commented “With the increasing adoption of WSI devices it is essential that users can take control of the colour quality and accuracy of the digital images produced. Whether viewed by a pathologist or processed by an AI programme”. Salmon continued “With Sierra VS-Profiler all digital pathology images can be standardised through the integration of the device-specific ICC profile – and not just images from one device, but all images generated across multiple devices, standardised to ground-truth ICC colour.”
FFEI is showcasing the new Sierra VS-Profiler product at the Digital Pathology & AI congress in December, where Rick Salmon, will be presenting on the subject of “The Latest Thinking Around Colour Fidelity in Digital Pathology and AI”.
