The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is advancing pioneering artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pathology research aimed at strengthening diagnostic accuracy, consistency, and efficiency in South Africa’s public healthcare system. The work forms part of the organisation’s broader commitment to modernising laboratory medicine and harnessing innovation to improve patient outcomes.
One area of focus is Haematopathology, where assessing plasma cell burden is critical for diagnosing and monitoring diseases such as multiple myeloma. Traditionally, this process is labour-intensive and can be subject to variability between observers, particularly when plasma cells are scarce or unevenly distributed within bone marrow samples. These challenges highlight the need for innovative tools that enhance reproducibility, diagnostic confidence, and the overall quality of patient care.

The research aligns with the NHLS’ five-year organisational strategy, which identifies the integration of innovative technologies into laboratory systems as a key strategic priority. Within this framework, AI is emerging as a powerful enabler of laboratory modernisation, supporting healthcare professionals with advanced tools that enhance decision-making while strengthening the delivery of diagnostic services.
The research explores AI-assisted approaches designed to support, not replace, laboratory professionals, by improving workflow efficiency, reducing manual workload, and strengthening standardisation. Expert interpretation and clinical oversight remain essential to patient care. The development and application of these technologies should be guided by principles of transparency, rigorous scientific validation and ethical responsibility, ensuring that AI serves as a tool to enhance healthcare delivery while maintaining the highest standards of patient care, patient safety and professional accountability.
Dr Ethan Gantana, a pathologist and PhD candidate in Haematopathology at the NHLS and Stellenbosch University, is at the forefront of developing innovative diagnostic approaches that combine artificial intelligence with laboratory medicine to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of blood cancers.
His research focuses on plasma cell cancer diagnosis and includes peer-reviewed studies and international presentations on AI-assisted plasma cell quantification, surrogate models for estimating bone marrow involvement and advanced computational clustering analysis of routine flow cytometry data.

These innovations have the potential to support faster, more consistent and more cost-effective cancer diagnostics in public healthcare laboratories, helping to strengthen diagnostic services and patient care within the public health sector.
Beyond technical advancement, this work highlights the growing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between clinical medicine, pathology, and data science. It creates opportunities for local innovation, research development, and student training in South Africa, while reinforcing the contribution of locally driven science to the global AI and digital pathology landscape.
As the NHLS implements its strategic priorities, the integration of innovative technologies into laboratory systems remains central to its transformation agenda, positioning the organisation at the forefront of data-driven, modern laboratory medicine.
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For more information and media enquiries:

Mr Mzi Gcukumana

Senior Communications Manager

066 376 3171

Mzimasi.gcukumana@nhls.ac.za