Pathware Inc.

Pathware Inc., a for-profit corporation based in Golden, Colorado, is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) recipient developing AI-powered point-of-care diagnostic imaging platforms for pathology sample evaluation. The vendor operates exclusively as a prime recipient under federal research grants, with no contract prime awards or subcontractor footprint in the source data.

Pathware's federal customer base consists entirely of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which has funded three SBIR grants totaling $3.2 million obligated across the past four years. The first award, a $500 thousand SBIR Phase I grant dated September 7, 2022 (ultimate completion August 31, 2023), supported development of a coded ptychography imaging platform combined with artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze unstained lung biopsy samples at the point of care, addressing the 20–40% failure rate of lung fine-needle aspirations due to inadequate specimens. A second NCI grant, awarded July 3, 2023 (ultimate completion July 31, 2024), expanded the technology platform to thyroid biopsy applications under the project title "Leveraging Label-Free Digital Imaging to Enable Rapid On-Site Evaluation During Thyroid Biopsy Procedures," developing the BioPtic imaging system for computer-aided detection and diagnostics of unstained thyroid cytology smears. Most recently, NCI awarded Pathware a $1,057,841 SBIR Direct-to-Phase II grant (CFDA 93.394, R44CA302204) on September 1, 2026, continuing lung biopsy technology development through August 31, 2028, with performance in Golden, Colorado. The Direct-to-Phase II designation indicates accelerated progression past the typical Phase I–Phase II sequence, signaling NCI confidence in the platform's commercial potential and technical feasibility. All three grants operate under the Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394). One award with ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months faces recompete opportunity as the Phase II performance period concludes in mid-2028.