Clinical-Grade AI for Colonic Polyp Screening

PolypStrik helps pathology teams screen colorectal polyp slides with high accuracy and highlights high-risk regions so pathologists can focus on the cases that need deeper review.

Login Get in Touch

High-Volume Colorectal Screening Challenge

A large volume of benign, low-risk polyps consumes pathologist time while high-risk regions still require careful clinical review.

Cutting-Edge Technology

In Canada, colorectal screening creates a sustained pathology workload. In Kingston alone, around 4,000 colonoscopies are performed annually, with approximately 2,000 cases having polyps removed and an estimated 4,000 polyps assessed per year. Most are small and benign, but around 15% can contain high-risk regions that require focused pathologist attention.

The Current Problem

Colonoscopies in Kingston
0
Approximate annual colonoscopy volume processed in Kingston
Cases with Polyps Removed
0
About half of annual colonoscopy cases have one or more removed polyps
Polyps Assessed Annually
0
Estimated annual pathology volume from local surveillance programs
Polyps with High-Risk Areas
0
Estimated share of polyps that may contain regions needing detailed review

Key Challenges in Polyp Screening Workflows

Current limitations in digital pathology workflows that PolypStrik addresses:

High slide volume: Large numbers of mostly benign surveillance polyps still require manual review, consuming specialist time each day.
Prioritization burden: Pathologists need fast ways to identify high-risk regions across many routine slides without missing subtle findings.
Consistency pressure: Maintaining consistent classification quality at scale is difficult when workload fluctuates across labs and sites.
Review time constraints: Complex cases need deeper attention, but routine volume can reduce time available for difficult diagnostic decisions.
Cross-site variability: Validation across different scanner hardware and populations is needed before broad clinical deployment.

PolypStrik Solution

An AI-assisted second-reader workflow for colorectal polyp classification and high-risk area flagging.

PolypStrik is being built as Canada's first clinical-grade AI platform for automated colonic polyp screening. The model classifies polyps with high accuracy and generates heatmaps to flag high-risk regions for pathologist review.

The platform combines a Django web interface and API endpoints to support organization/user management, secure image uploads, analysis execution, and annotated result review in one clinician-friendly experience.

Built for clinical deployment, PolypStrik targets secure cloud hosting, auditability, and integration pathways for tools such as QuPath, helping pathology teams scale safely while keeping clinicians in control.

Core AI and Platform

The screening engine is based on an optimized Barlow Twins framework adapted for colorectal polyp classification and risk-region localization. This two-pronged approach provides both an automated class prediction and a visual attention map for focused clinical review.

The surrounding application stack supports secure authentication, project/image management, queued processing, and annotation export to fit clinical and research operations in pathology labs.

Cancer Care Assessment

Key Capabilities

PolypStrik delivers workflow and safety improvements for pathology teams:

Automated classification: Classifies colorectal polyps with high model accuracy to support routine screening workloads.
Risk heatmaps: Highlights high-risk regions on the slide so pathologists can prioritize focused review.
Clinical oversight: Keeps the pathologist in control by positioning AI output as a second-reader aid, not a replacement.
Cloud-ready interface: Supports secure login, image upload, analysis execution, and result review from a web platform.
Multi-site validation: Designed to be validated across KHSC and Sunnybrook cohorts with different scanners and populations.
Operational efficiency: Reduces time spent on straightforward benign polyps so experts can focus on advanced cases.
Integration pathway: API-first design enables integrations with digital pathology tools such as QuPath and related ecosystems.
Safer throughput: Supports faster, smarter, and safer diagnosis at scale while preserving clinical accountability.

Get Started

Get started with PolypStrik in three simple steps.

1

Sign in to Your Organization

Sign in using your approved account. Organization-level access controls and invitations keep clinical data scoped to authorized teams.

Search and Join a Group
2

Create a Project and Upload Images

Create a project, upload one or more slide images, and submit analysis jobs through the web interface or connected tools.

Create Project
3

Review Annotations and Export

Review AI classifications and high-risk heatmaps, then download annotation outputs (CSV) and continue case review within your workflow.

View Project Results

Security & Compliance

PolypStrik implements comprehensive security measures to ensure data protection and compliance:

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

TOTP-based two-factor authentication using authenticator apps (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, etc.) to prevent unauthorized access. Users can enable/disable 2FA from their security settings.

File Encryption

All uploaded files are encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption. Sample files, project outputs, and reports are automatically encrypted on upload and decrypted securely when accessed by authorized users.

Account Lockout Protection

Automatic account lockout after 3 failed login attempts or 3 failed 2FA attempts. Locked accounts can be unlocked by administrators, and all lockout events are logged for security monitoring.

Comprehensive Audit Logging

Complete activity logging tracks all user actions including logins, 2FA events, data access, modifications, deletions, and security events. Logs include IP addresses, timestamps, user agents, and operation metadata for complete audit trails.

Password Reset & Security

Secure email-based password reset functionality with automatic account unlock. Rate limiting prevents abuse (5-minute cooldown between reset requests), and all password changes are logged.

Rate Limiting

Rate limiting protects against brute force attacks and abuse. API endpoints are rate-limited, and login endpoints have stricter limits to prevent credential stuffing attacks.

Secure Infrastructure

HTTPS/SSL encrypted data transmission, security headers (XSS protection, content type sniffing prevention), HSTS, secure session management, and CSRF protection to protect against common web vulnerabilities.

Access Control & Organizations

Role-based access control across organizations and users ensures teams only access authorized projects, images, and results under governed clinical workflows.

Our Team

Leadership and partners building clinical AI for digital pathology.

Sonal Varma, MD

Sonal Varma, MD

President and CEO

Sonal Varma leads PolypStrik's mission to deliver a clinically robust AI platform for colorectal polyp screening from Kingston, Ontario. The company is focused on pathologist-centered workflow improvements, safe deployment, and scalable partnerships across Canadian healthcare institutions.

Partner Organizations

Centre for Advanced Computing Kingston Economic Development Corporation Queen's University

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about PolypStrik and colorectal digital pathology workflows.

What is PolypStrik?

PolypStrik is a clinical-grade AI platform for automated colonic polyp screening. It supports pathologists by classifying polyps and highlighting high-risk regions on digital slides.

How does PolypStrik improve pathology workflows?

PolypStrik reduces routine review burden by automating initial screening and surfacing high-risk areas for focused evaluation, helping pathologists spend more time on complex findings.

What does the model output?

The platform returns polyp classification outputs and visual heatmaps indicating regions that may warrant closer clinical attention.

Is the pathologist still in control?

Yes. PolypStrik is designed as a second-reader assistant. Final interpretation and clinical decisions remain with the pathologist.

What makes PolypStrik different?

PolypStrik combines classification and risk localization in one workflow, targeting high-volume colorectal screening use cases while supporting secure, clinician-friendly deployment.

How does PolypStrik technology work?

The system uses an optimized self-supervised learning pipeline (Barlow Twins framework) for colorectal polyp screening and overlays heatmaps on the source image to support rapid review.

Can organizations manage multiple users and projects?

Yes. The platform is designed around organizations, users, projects, and images, with invitation-based onboarding and role-aware access to projects and results.

What outputs can be downloaded?

Users can view annotated image outputs in the platform and export annotation data in CSV format for downstream analysis and audit trails.

Does PolypStrik support integrations?

Yes. The roadmap includes API-based integrations with QuPath, Pyslide, and PathPresenter so users can submit images and retrieve annotations from external tools.

How is data protected?

PolypStrik is built with security controls such as encrypted transport, encrypted files at rest, strong password hashing, audit logging, and authentication safeguards aligned with clinical data governance needs.

What is the long-term objective?

The long-term goal is robust clinical deployment across hospitals and commercialization of a made-in-Canada pathology AI platform.

Where is PolypStrik being developed?

PolypStrik is being developed in Kingston, Ontario with ties to Ontario's digital pathology ecosystem and collaborations spanning clinical and technical partners.

Who is the platform for?

The platform is intended for pathologists, pathology labs, and clinical teams that need efficient, safe, and auditable colorectal polyp screening workflows.

Is PolypStrik suitable for scaling?

Yes. The architecture is designed for organization-level licensing, queued job execution, and cloud deployment so the platform can grow from pilot sites to broader clinical adoption.

How secure is patient data in the platform?

PolypStrik implements comprehensive security measures including Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), file encryption at rest using AES-256 encryption, account lockout protection, comprehensive audit logging, secure password reset functionality, rate limiting, and secure infrastructure with HTTPS/SSL encryption. All data access, modifications, and security events are logged for complete audit trails.

Who can use the PolypStrik platform?

The PolypStrik platform is designed for clinicians, laboratory personnel, and healthcare professionals. The user interface emphasizes secure access, clear review workflows, and organization-based permissions for responsible clinical collaboration.

Get in Touch

Interested in learning more about PolypStrik for digital pathology? We'd love to hear from you.

Contact us

[email protected]