Expansion of the services and accessibility of the "Histology and Evaluation in Digital (Nephro)Pathology - HELP" core facility.

• Subject Area: Pathology ; Nephrology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 552234081

Histopathological findings and quantitative analysis of histopathology are an essential part of the evaluation of both clinical and preclinical research. For the best possible quality of results, long-term expertise is required at all stages of the workflow. These steps are routinely carried out in clinical pathology laboratories in a quality-assured manner but are rarely available for research due to capacity limitations. In recent years, great methodological progress has been made in the analysis of histopathology, allowing automated and standardized tissue analyses to be carried out in a high-throughput manner using innovative microscopy techniques and the digitalization of entire histological sections. However, there is often a lack of sufficient expertise in the evaluation and analysis of histological preparations, particularly in highly specialized areas such as renal pathology. In the Nephropathology Section at the Institute of Pathology at RWTH Aachen University, we have built up a comprehensive infrastructure and the necessary expertise in digital (nephro)pathology for research. It represents a comprehensive and integrated digital pathology system for research purposes. This system has been integrated into the IT infrastructure of the University Hospital of RWTH Aachen, which operates under the security standards for patient care. This enables not only preclinical but also clinical research data to be stored and analyzed securely on a server-based and web-accessible basis. Staining protocols and evaluation algorithms have been adapted to enable automated analysis of entire experiments. The Faculty of Medicine is already supporting this service by funding personnel and through the construction of a module designed exclusively for digital (nephro)pathology, where this center will be located. However, there is a great need to further expand the range of services, particularly in the area of AI-supported image analysis. The image analysis methods are currently only established for specific applications in kidney pathology and the PAS staining that is commonly used in this field. We plan to adapt these methods for other applications in kidney pathology, as well as to other organs and histochemical stainings, such as the widely used HE staining. The high interest in the services offered by our center is not limited to researchers from the medical faculty of RWTH Aachen University, but extends also to many other national and international universities. This application thus aims to improve and to extend the range of services offered by our center, as well as its accessibility, in particular for external institutions outside of RWTH Aachen University.

• DFG Programme: Core Facilities
• Applicant Institution: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
• Leader: Professor Peter Boor, Ph.D.