Specialized engine · WSI conversion · Windows-only The whole-slide imaging sidecar. Watches an intake folder for native scanner files (Aperio SVS, Hamamatsu NDPI, 3DHistech MRXS, Roche BIF, Leica SCN, Zeiss ZVI, pyramidal TIFF), converts to DICOM Supplement 145 WSI with full multi-resolution pyramid, forwards via STOW-RS to your VNA.
The only Windows-only product in the family — by deliberate design (OpenSlideNET native dependency). The rest of the router-pattern hosts ship cross-platform. HIPAA mode is license-gated for clinical use; same family-platform features (keyed-hash pseudonymization, honest-broker capability, AI-vendor PHI-shielded round-trip) as the rest of the family.
The OS exception
Pathology Engine is the only Windows-only product in the XyDromatics family. The rest of the router-pattern hosts — Router, VNA family, SR Engine, Migration Engine, Encounter Engine — ship cross-platform. Pathology Engine doesn’t, for a specific technical reason worth understanding before you plan the deployment.
Whole-slide-imaging vendor formats (Aperio SVS, Hamamatsu NDPI, 3DHistech MRXS, Roche BIF, etc.) are read by the OpenSlide library, which depends on a stack of native C libraries (libtiff, libpng, libxml2, glib, vendor-specific decoders). The .NET binding (OpenSlideNET) wraps these via P/Invoke. The whole stack compiles cleanly on Windows. Cross- compiling for Linux is harder than it sounds because of those native dependency chains.
Rather than ship a partially-functional Linux build, IPE is Windows-only by design. We’d rather have one OS work reliably than two OSes work flakily. The rest of the family stays cross-platform; IPE is the deliberate exception.
Deployment implication
If your standard server platform is Linux, IPE will require a Windows host (or VM) somewhere in your imaging stack. Plan for it during discovery — usually a single Windows host per IPE deployment is sufficient, with the rest of your XyDromatics products running on whichever platform your team prefers.
Capabilities
The capabilities below cover the conversion pipeline, DICOM Sup 145 output, watch-folder ingest, the license-gated HIPAA mode, and the family-platform features (keyed-hash, broker, audit) that you get across every router-pattern host.
Pathology scanners produce vendor-native WSI formats — IPE converts them all to DICOM Supplement 145 WSI for vendor-neutral archiving.
The DICOM standard for whole-slide imaging — multi-resolution pyramid, tile-based access, embedded label and overview images.
Pathology workflow is historically file-based. IPE meets the workflow where it lives — drop native files into an intake folder, the engine handles the rest.
After conversion, IPE forwards the DICOM WSI to the target archive via standard STOW-RS — works with any DICOM-conformant VNA, not just XyDromatics.
HIPAA mode is a license feature — not a free configuration toggle. Deliberate design control under the non-device posture (§520(o)(1)(D)): clinical use requires explicit license entitlement.
Same family-wide platform features as the rest of the router-pattern hosts.
Architecture
Pathology workflow has historically been file-based. IPE meets that workflow where it lives — scanner drops native file into intake folder; engine handles conversion + forward.
Use cases
The primary pattern: pathology scanners produce native files; IPE converts to DICOM Sup 145 WSI; converted slides land in the VNA for vendor-neutral archive + clinical retrieval. Replaces the patchwork of vendor-specific tooling that pathology departments often accumulate.
Flow
A pathology department with years of accumulated scanner-native WSI files (in vendor-proprietary formats, often siloed by scanner) wants to consolidate onto a vendor-neutral DICOM archive. IPE batch-processes the historical archive into DICOM Sup 145.
Flow
Digital-pathology AI is a fast-growing space (Paige, PathAI, Ibex, Mindpeak, Indica Halo, others). IPE supports the family-wide PHI-shielded round-trip — de-identify on the way out, AI vendor analyzes, findings come back, IPE re-identifies via keyed-hash pseudonymization.
Flow
Research project requires de-identified WSI cohort for AI training, biomarker discovery, or longitudinal study. IPE converts and de-identifies upstream of VNA Research (or VNA Clinical Research's research lane).
Flow
A health-system pathology service with scanners at multiple sites (different scanner vendors at different sites) consolidates onto a unified DICOM WSI archive. IPE deployments at each site convert per-site native files; converted DICOM WSI flows to a central VNA.
Flow
Integration points
System requirements & sizing
WSI files are large (50 GB to 500 GB per slide depending on tissue size and magnification). Conversion is CPU-intensive for the multi-resolution pyramid generation. I/O bandwidth is often the bottleneck before CPU saturates. Sizing tiers are starting points; final sizing comes out of discovery.
| Tier | Slide volume | CPU | RAM | Storage | Typical site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departmental | < 200 slides / day | 8 vCPU | 32 GB | 2 TB working + intake / convert | Single pathology service, 1–2 scanners. Single IPE host. |
| Hospital pathology | 200 – 1,000 slides / day | 16 vCPU | 64 GB | 8 TB working | Hospital pathology service, multiple scanners, full clinical signout workflow. |
| Academic medical center | 1,000 – 3,000 slides / day | 32 vCPU per node, multi-host | 128 GB per node | 20+ TB working | AMC pathology service with research workload, multi-vendor scanner mix. |
| Multi-site enterprise | > 3,000 slides / day aggregate | 32 vCPU per site, distributed deployment | 128 GB per node | Per-site working storage + central archive | Health-system multi-site pathology consolidation, per-site IPE deployments forwarding to central VNA. |
Licensing
Core covers conversion + forwarding for research / development use. The HIPAA Mode tier unlocks clinical use (mandatory for any production pathology workflow). Enterprise adds keyed- hash, AI-vendor PHI shielding, multi-host deployment, and HA pairing.
The base appliance — WSI conversion, watch-folder ingest, STOW-RS forwarding. Research / development use only without HIPAA mode license.
Adds the license-gated HIPAA mode for clinical use. Required for any production clinical pathology workflow.
Everything, plus keyed-hash pseudonymization for AI-vendor PHI shielding, multi-host deployment, and HA.
Per-deployment licensing. Multi-host deployments licensed per-host. Multi-product bundles (IPE + VNA family + Router / Migration Engine / SR Engine) get bundle pricing and shared site-key provisioning for cross-product anon-ID consistency.
Documentation
Every Pathology Engine deployment ships with the documents below, all managed under SynthQMS document control. The DICOM Conformance Statement is publicly available; the rest are shared under mutual NDA.
| Document | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DOC-2026-060 | Hardware & Software Requirements (Pathology Engine) | Sizing, OS support, dependencies |
| DOC-2026-076 | DICOM Conformance Statement (Pathology Engine) | Public — VL Whole Slide Microscopy Image Storage SOP class |
| DOC-2026-066 | EULA Annex (Pathology Engine) | Annex to the Synthology Master EULA (DOC-2026-063) |
| DOC-2026-309 | Penetration Test Results (Pathology Engine) | Available under NDA |
| DOC-2026-052 | QA Runner Manual (Pathology Engine) | Internal QA + customer-validated test runs |
| DOC-2026-084 | User Guide (Pathology Engine) | Operator + administrator + pathology-IT workflows |
| DOC-2026-071 | Installation Guide (Pathology Engine) | Windows MSI deploy + OpenSlideNET dependency installation |
Pathology Engine-specific documents beyond the standard set. Items marked Pending are tracked for authoring under SynthQMS change control.
| Document | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DOC-2026-051 | HIPAA Mode License-Feature Spec (Pathology Engine) | Strict feature-license check + /health observability |
| DOC-2026-401 | Per-Scanner Profile Catalog (Pathology Engine) | Per-scanner known-quirk profiles maintained as living documentation |
Frequently asked
OpenSlideNET dependency. Whole-slide-imaging vendor formats (SVS, NDPI, MRXS, BIF, etc.) are read by the OpenSlide library, which depends on a stack of native C libraries (libtiff, libpng, libxml2, glib, vendor-specific decoders). The .NET binding (OpenSlideNET) wraps these via P/Invoke. The whole stack compiles cleanly on Windows but cross-compiling for Linux requires picking up native dependencies that aren't straightforward to package consistently. Rather than ship a partially-functional Linux build, IPE is Windows-only by design. The rest of the router-pattern family (Router, VNA family, SR Engine, Migration Engine) ships cross-platform; IPE is the deliberate exception.
The major vendor formats: Aperio SVS (Leica Biosystems), Hamamatsu NDPI (NanoZoomer series), 3DHistech MRXS (Pannoramic, now Sysmex), Roche / Ventana BIF (DP200 / DP600 / DP1000), Leica SCN (SCN400), Zeiss ZVI / CZI (Axio Scan series), and pyramidal TIFF / BigTIFF as a generic fallback. Already-DICOM scanners are passed through without re-conversion. The per-scanner profile catalog (DOC-controlled) tracks vendor-specific quirks per firmware revision.
Highly dependent on slide resolution, scanner format, and host CPU. Conservative targets: a single IPE host on 16 vCPU + 64 GB RAM converts roughly 200-500 slides/day at typical clinical scan resolutions. Higher-throughput deployments use multi-host distributed processing. WSI files are large (50 GB to 500 GB per slide depending on tissue size + magnification + bit depth) so I/O bandwidth is often the bottleneck, not CPU. Discovery phase produces a realistic forecast for your scanner mix and volume.
Deliberate design control under the non-device posture (§520(o)(1)(D)). A clinical-use capability that's gated by the EULA but reachable via a config flag can be enabled by accident -- and good cybersecurity practice is not friendly to that pattern. By making HIPAA mode a license feature with strict license-status enforcement (per the family-wide license-feature-enforcement pattern), the entitlement boundary lives in code rather than in customer-modifiable config. Without a valid HIPAA-mode license, IPE force-resets to non-clinical mode at startup -- the customer can't accidentally enable a clinical capability they're not entitled to.
Yes. STOW-RS is the standard DICOM HTTP-based store endpoint, and IPE forwards to any STOW-RS endpoint -- XyDromatics VNA family, third-party VNAs, pathology-specific PACS, AI vendors. For institutions that already have a vendor VNA they're happy with, IPE slots in upstream as the WSI conversion layer without forcing a VNA replacement.
Same family-wide mechanism as the Router, VNA family, SR Engine, and Migration Engine. IPE uses keyed-hash pseudonymization on the way out (de-identifies the DICOM WSI as it forwards to the AI vendor), retains the source ↔ anon-ID mapping, and re-identifies AI-returned findings on the way back. Available in the Enterprise license tier. AI vendor sees only anonymized WSI; findings get linked to the right case in the pathology archive without the AI vendor ever receiving PHI.
DICOM Sup 145 WSI is the long-term answer for vendor-neutral archiving. Proprietary formats lock the data to the originating scanner vendor; DICOM WSI travels with the patient regardless of which scanner is in service today or in fifteen years. The industry trajectory is firmly toward DICOM WSI -- pathology departments running converted DICOM WSI archives have an easier time switching scanner vendors, integrating AI, and satisfying long-term retention requirements. IPE's job is making that transition incremental rather than all-or-nothing.
Non-device software under FD&C Act §520(o)(1)(D), the 21st Century Cures Act §3060 carve-out for software that transfers, stores, converts, or displays device data without interpreting or analyzing it. No FDA Device Listing required. Same framework as Router, VNA Repository, VNA Migration, SR Engine, and Migration Engine -- IPE handles storage and forwarding (format conversion is not interpretation) without modifying clinical interpretation. HIPAA mode is the license-gated clinical-use feature; the underlying classification is the same non-device carve-out.
Tell us your scanner mix, slide volume, target archive, and whether you need clinical (HIPAA mode) or research-only. We’ll come back within one business day with a proposed deployment.