NPIC onboards UCLH neurology onto the UK’s first national digital pathology platform
NHS consortium champions AI research enabling faster, more accurate cancer diagnosis to improve patient outcomes
The National Pathology Imaging Co-operative (NPIC), based out of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, responsible for connecting pathologists and laboratory experts onto the UK's first national digital pathology network, has gone live with a new hospital site. Bringing the total number of connected sites across England to 15, with further sites expected to join later this year.
University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust has successfully implemented NPIC's digital pathology platform at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), the UK's largest dedicated neurological and neurosurgical hospital. Providing services for the diagnosis, treatment and care for brain, spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system conditions, the hospital will now benefit from the latest pathology technology advancements to increase efficient analysis and diagnosis for the 1.8 million population it serves.
"Working with Leeds Teaching Hospitals' NPIC programme as part of a North Central London (NCL)-wide digital pathology solution, our Neuropathology department has successfully delivered a locally led implementation tailored to our service," says Dr Angela Richard, Head Biomedical Scientist, Neuropathology Dept. at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. "Delivery has taken place through a phased programme, including scanner deployment, integration with Sectra, validation, and staff training, supported by close collaboration between clinical, IT, and NPIC teams. Following go-live, we are now at an exciting early stage of adoption, with digital pathology beginning to be embedded into routine practice and providing a strong foundation for future service development."
NPIC's digital pathology platform enables faster and more accurate diagnoses by allowing pathologists to securely access and analyse high-resolution digital slides remotely. The transition from traditional glass slide workflows to digital pathology reduces diagnostic turnaround times, enhances collaboration across a national network of clinical experts, and enables rapid access to second opinions. It also reduces the need to transport physical slides between sites, improving efficiency and reducing associated costs. Furthermore, the platform supports the development and evaluation of artificial intelligence tools, helping to drive innovation and improve diagnostic accuracy in the future.
Expansion of the national network
With the addition of NHNN, the NPIC digital pathology network has expanded to 15 live sites across England. These include Great Ormond Street Hospital, which provides specialist healthcare to more than 76,000 children each year and The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, internationally recognised for its leadership in orthopaedic care.
The network is set to grow further in the coming months with Alder Hey Children's Hospital and Royal Manchester Children's Hospital expected to go live on the platform soon.
"Our continued expansion evidences our commitment to building a national digital pathology ecosystem across the UK," says Usman Arif, Programme Head at NPIC. "Our partner NHS trusts not only benefit from a secure, scalable infrastructure that will enable AI integration into routine diagnostic workflows, but they also receive long-term, embedded support ensuring that digital transformation translates into sustainable clinical and operational impact for the benefit of the patients."
For NHS organisations, the consortium creates unprecedented opportunities to collaborate, share expertise, and deploy digital sovereign innovation at scale, setting a new standard for integrated, patient-centric diagnostic services, which is firmly aligned to the 10 year health plan and the shift from analogue to digital.
Driving digital resilience at scale
The NPIC programme is delivered in partnership with industry leaders, Exponential-e and Sectra, who provide the cutting-edge technology and expertise to support the secure delivery of the national infrastructure.
Exponential-e provides NPIC with a resilient, scalable and data-sovereign hosting platform on which Sectra's centralised Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) resides. This enables the secure storage, sharing and management of digital pathology images for both clinical and research purposes.
Leica Biosystems supplies and deploys digital pathology scanners that facilitate the integration of digital pathology into diagnostic pathways across NHS Trusts. Sectra complements this by providing its digital pathology solution and Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA), supporting the storage, accessibility and sharing of pathology images across multiple systems and organisations.
As the NPIC programme develops in 2026 and beyond, the focus will remain on expanding the network nationally while launching more AI-driven diagnostic capabilities. These tools, built on the Exponential-e platform, will enhance large-scale image comparison, support deep learning-based pattern recognition to deliver more precise and timely diagnoses, particularly in cancer and other critical diseases.
For more information on NPIC and its digital pathology programme, visit https://npic.ac.uk/
Stay Informed
When you subscribe to the blog, we will send you an e-mail when there are new updates on the site so you wouldn't miss them.
About the author
© 2026 Exponential-e Ltd. Reg. No. 04499567, Reg. Address:100 Leman Street, London E1 8EU