The event brought together some of the College’s members, key industry experts and academics to discuss how pathology services can be accelerated and modernised through integration with, and access to, the UK Biobank resource. 

Researchers from UK Biobank presented findings from their cohort study of the health outcomes of 500,000 participants, and how they are using genomic analysis, artificial intelligence and digital pathology solutions to make predictions about participants’ future health. Participants were volunteers who consented from across England, Wales and Scotland who provided initial baseline health data, before consenting to further health data being linked in the future. 

 

From left to right: Dr Prabs Arumugam, Clinical Innovation Lead at Amazon Web Services; Dr Bernie Croal, President of the Royal College of Pathologists; Professor Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and Chief Executive at UK Biobank; Professor Sarah Coupland, President-Elect of the Royal College of Pathologists and Dr Inesa Thomsen, Director of Data Linkage at UK Biobank. 

Participants then undertook a roundtable discussion to discuss how digital histopathology solutions could be scaled up and what the risks, opportunities and barriers to success were.  

The discussion also focused on how the work of UK Biobank and pathologists could meaningfully strengthen research excellence and the pathology workforce, and how this could be shared with pathologists across the country, in terms of easing workforce pressures and streamlining services. 

There was a strong consensus that more work needed to be done to ensure that pathology services can make best use of new technologies, such as AI, genomics and digital pathology solutions.  

The College is ready to take this work forward with UK Biobank, our members and industry, to ensure that we are building pathology services that are fit to the future, making the best use of the latest technological developments. 

 

The attendees in discussion at the event.