Spatial intelligence for skin pathology

Guided at every step, from excision to diagnosis

PathMappr follows each lesion from excision to diagnosis — capturing what the clinician saw, tracking how the tissue was processed, and linking microscopic findings back to their location in the original specimen. The result is a spatial model that any professional in the diagnostic chain can navigate.

The problem

Diagnosis without a map

A clinician excises a lesion because dermoscopy revealed something specific. Yet once that specimen reaches the laboratory, that clinical insight rarely influences how it is processed.

Less than 2% of tissue is ever examined

Standard histology captures only a thin sampling of any excised specimen. That makes the selection of which tissue reaches the slide a critical decision.

Clinical context never reaches the bench

Specimens are processed with no access to the clinical observations that prompted the biopsy. Features as small as one to two millimetres — the very areas of concern — can end up in tissue that is never examined. What never reached the slide is never diagnosed.

Accurate on the slide, uncertain on the lesion

A measurement can be precise on the section examined — and still miss the true value in the specimen. The closest margin, the deepest point of invasion: both depend on where the tissue was cut, not only on what the pathologist sees.

Spatial context lives on paper

Orientation, inking, and grossing decisions are recorded through hand-drawn sketches, physical markers, and verbal descriptions — formats that don't transfer, don't scale, and can't be revisited once the tissue is processed.

The platform

A digital twin from excision to diagnosis

PathMappr builds a 3D spatial model of each lesion — linking every clinical observation to its position in the tissue. As blocks are cut, sections taken, and slides examined, each step is registered within the same coordinate system. What the clinician saw, what the laboratory processed, and what the pathologist found all live in a single navigable record.

Clinical imaging

Areas of concern are identified and located in the spatial model

Tissue processing

Every block and section registered to its position in the lesion

Microscopy

Histological findings anchored to the spatial model. The full lesion, not a single slice

PathMappr

3D Digital Twin

A spatial model of the lesion, updated at every step

DermatopathologistSees tissue in clinical context
Lab technicianCuts guided by spatial map
DermatologistTracks lesion from capture to report
SurgeonNavigates margins in three dimensions

PathMappr connects to laboratory information systems, image management platforms, and clinical imaging systems through standard interfaces.

Validated in practice

First applications, proven in clinical practice

These are the first applications of the spatial model — each supported by peer-reviewed evidence from clinical practice.

Spatially-guided sectioning

Areas of clinical concern and closest margins guide where tissue is cut, rather than relying on fixed-interval sampling. The spatial model ensures that the features that prompted the biopsy are the features that reach the slide.

8.4% → 12.8%Margin detection (NMSC)
5 → 2 daysMelanoma turnaround
Haspeslagh et al., JAMA Dermatology 2016

Clinical context at the microscope

The slides you receive capture the most relevant areas. Structured dermoscopic context travels with the tissue — not just an image, but the clinical observations and their spatial relationship to the histology.

9%Diagnoses upgraded with structured dermoscopy context
Lai et al., JEADV 2025

Dermoscopic risk stratification

When histological findings are systematically linked back to dermoscopic patterns, risk signatures emerge that are invisible in either modality alone. Spatial correlation across thousands of cases reveals nevus subtypes with dramatically different melanoma associations, distinguishable by dermoscopic features.

46%Of excised nevi were low-risk on spatial correlation
OR 56Melanoma occurrence, highest vs lowest-risk subtypes
Clauwaert et al., J Invest Dermatol 2024
What changes

One twin, four different views

Every professional in the skin diagnostic chain works from the same spatial model — but each sees the angle that matters to their decision.

Dermatologist

Your observations reach the microscope

PathMappr captures your dermoscopic observations into the digital twin, guiding tissue processing and spatially linking your findings to the histological analysis. The correlation between your dermoscope and the microscope becomes visible, case after case.

Lab technician

Know exactly where to cut

The digital twin carries a spatial map of clinical features into the lab, replacing manual handling with a reproducible, guided grossing workflow. Sectioning targets the areas that matter most.

Dermatopathologist

Go straight to the regions that matter

Focus diagnostic time where it matters most. The slides you receive capture the most relevant areas. Dermoscopic context gives you the clinical picture alongside the histology.

Surgeon

A spatial map of disease

Whether for primary excision or re-excision after positive margins, the digital twin provides a spatial map of disease location referenced to the patient's anatomy. A persistent 3D record that doesn't fade, shift, or lose detail between consultation and intervention.

Publications

The science behind the platform

The core methodology was developed with our clinical partner Dermpat over a decade of practice and published research — and independently validated by other groups.

2003

First demonstration that a dermoscopic feature could be traced to its exact histological counterpart.

Archives of Dermatology
2007

Ex vivo dermoscopy applied to fixed tissue with findings comparable to in vivo examination.

Archives of Dermatology
2013

Derm dotting — a practical marking system enabling targeted sectioning of dermoscopic areas of concern in routine clinical practice.

American Journal of Dermatopathology
2016

Dermoscopy-guided sectioning can capture the most diagnostically significant areas of the lesion.

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
2016

Clinical validation across 15,110 specimens. Margin detection improvement in NMSC and melanoma turnaround time reduction using EVD-DD.

JAMA Dermatology
2024

Spatial correlation across 7,364 nevi reveals 12 distinct subtypes with dramatically different melanoma associations — findings invisible without systematic clinicopathological linkage.

Journal of Investigative Dermatology
2025

Structured dermoscopy reports alongside histopathology led to diagnostic upgrades in 9% of cases. Images alone were not enough — spatial context changed the diagnosis.

JEADV
Research Partner

Built with clinical expertise

Dermpat

Built with Dermpat, a Belgian dermatopathology laboratory with clinical experience spanning over 50,000 spatially-correlated specimens.

Visit Dermpat
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