Researchers from Vall d’Hebron have participated in a study evaluating the potential of Techcyte’s artificial intelligence-assisted microscopy for the detection of ova and parasites (O&P) in stool samples. The research has been published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, one of the leading scientific publications in this field.

The retrospective study evaluated 178 clinical stool samples to compare conventional microscopy with Techcyte’s AI-assisted system. When combined with operator review, Techcyte’s AI-assisted system achieved 96.62% positive agreement and 93.33% negative agreement compared with conventional microscopy. The AI-assisted review also enabled the detection of additional parasite findings in 74 of the 178 samples, highlighting its potential to contribute to more comprehensive O&P screening. This figure represents more than 40% of the samples evaluated.

In a subspecialty where O&P testing is highly manual, requires significant attention, and depends on the workload and experience of technical staff, the ability to systematically detect additional structures of interest for expert review represents a significant contribution to laboratory workflows. This finding speaks directly to the complementary role AI can play: not as a substitute for expert interpretation, but as a systematic and tireless first review that helps ensure that objects are not overlooked before the expert performs the final assessment.

“Traditional ova and parasite testing continues to rely heavily on expert microscopy, which requires time, experience, and sustained attention,” highlights Carles Rubio, postdoctoral researcher of the Microbiology group at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). “In our laboratory, we found that AI-assisted microscopy can act as a valuable screening tool, helping technicians find parasites in stool samples with a low parasite burden, while preserving the essential role of expert review in the final interpretation”.

“This study reflects the role we believe AI should play in the laboratory: supporting trained professionals, not replacing them,” says Vijetha Kumar, Parasitology Product Manager at Techcyte. “AI-assisted microscopy can help detect potential parasites for review, while keeping expert interpretation at the center of the workflow”.

Techcyte’s AI-assisted microscopy solutions are distributed in Spain through Grifols, which supported the collaboration with the International Health Unit of the Microbiology Department at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital.