Facilities
Clinics, hospitals and laboratories capture slides using an available suitable device and submit structured case information.
Scanner-agnostic digital pathology
Kebeza PathEdge
A remote pathology platform designed to connect facilities to a distributed pool of pathologists for reporting, second opinions and specialist support — without locking the network to one scanner brand or one capture method.
The bottleneck is specialist access.
Many African facilities can collect samples and prepare slides but cannot employ enough pathologists — or the right subspecialists — to report every case quickly. Moving glass slides between cities adds delay, cost and risk. PathEdge is designed to move images and structured case information instead, while keeping a qualified pathologist responsible for the diagnosis.
Pathologist network
Cases can be routed to available general or specialist pathologists for primary reporting, second opinion or escalation.
Operational proof
Turnaround time, case status, reporting activity and referral outcomes can be captured for quality improvement and partnership evidence.
Existing operational foundation
PathEdge is being formalised from real remote pathology and cytology experience rather than starting as a software-only idea.
1,000+
remote pathology/cytology cases supported across Kebeza-linked sites over approximately three years
3 sites
operational experience across Jinja, Arua and Mbale
<1 hour
majority turnaround time in the existing remote workflow, based on internal operational experience
Scanner-agnostic by design
PathEdge should adapt to the hardware already available at a site instead of forcing every partner to buy the same scanner.
Existing scanners
Existing whole-slide scanners
Hospitals with working commercial scanners can use them immediately for benchmarking, workflow proof and remote reporting.
High volume
Commercial scanners for high-volume sites
High-throughput laboratories can connect faster scanners where case volume and funding justify the investment.
Camera capture
Camera-assisted or microscope capture
Lower-volume services can begin with controlled image capture workflows where full whole-slide scanning is not yet available.
Low cost
Low-cost systems such as OpenFlexure
OpenFlexure remains an important low-cost deployment and local-capacity option, but it is one hardware pathway within PathEdge — not the definition of the platform.
How a PathEdge case moves
1 · Capture & intake
The site digitises the relevant slide areas and submits the clinical context, specimen information and reporting question.
2 · Assignment & review
The case is assigned to an appropriate pathologist, with escalation for difficult or subspecialty cases.
3 · Report & return
The pathologist issues a structured report or opinion, and the result is returned through a traceable workflow.
4 · Quality checks
Image adequacy, turnaround time, discrepancies and follow-up needs are recorded for service improvement.
5 · Second opinion
Cases can be reviewed by another pathologist without physically transporting the glass slide across long distances.
6 · Evidence for scale
De-identified operational metrics support partner reporting, grant applications and decisions about where scanners and specialists are most needed.
Current MVP build
- Use available scanners now. Benchmark the workflow using any authorised working scanner, including existing institutional equipment, rather than waiting for OpenFlexure hardware to arrive.
- Build the multi-pathologist experience. Prove assignment, review, reporting, escalation and audit trails across a small network of pathologists.
- Add low-cost deployment proof. Integrate OpenFlexure or other affordable capture systems as a deployment option for lower-volume and resource-constrained sites.
- Document outcomes. Capture turnaround time, image adequacy, case mix, reporting capacity and operational lessons before adding more complex AI layers.
Partner with the pilot
Kebeza is seeking facilities with usable scanners, laboratories that need remote reporting support, pathologists interested in a structured network, and partners able to support workflow validation and deployment.