Aquatic disease diagnostics · Prince Edward Island
Preventing disease from becoming disaster.
AquaPath AI is building AI-assisted histopathology tools that help pathologists diagnose MSX and other aquatic diseases faster — starting with oyster tissue, in collaboration with the Atlantic Veterinary College.
$500k+ in losses for one PEI oyster family business, from a single undiagnosed outbreak.
Concern
A farmer notices unusual mortality with no clear cause.
Diagnosis
Molecular testing is fast; manual histology is slower and hard to scale.
Response
Clear diagnosis is what turns losses into DFO and CFIA support.
Two methods, one bottleneck.
Molecular testing
Fast, quantitative detection. Tells you the pathogen is present.
Manual histology
Detailed, qualitative interpretation. Slower, and harder to scale.
Together they support diagnosis — but histology review is the bottleneck.
An excellent application for AI.
Each slide contains millions of pixels of structural detail — exactly the kind of pattern-dense, high-resolution image where machine assistance can help an expert cover more ground without missing what matters.
An assistant that helps pathologists review slides faster and more clearly — not a replacement for their judgment.
Highlights suspicious regions
Draws the pathologist's eye to areas worth a closer look.
Supports expert review
The pathologist verifies and decides — the tool doesn't diagnose alone.
Generates an initial report
A starting draft, not a final word.
What faster, AI-assisted review makes possible.
Faster turnaround
Days, not months, per case.
More throughput
Same staff, more slides reviewed.
Consistency
The same standard, slide to slide.
Expert stays in control
Every read is pathologist-verified.
Transparent reasoning
Shows what it flagged, and why.
Earlier disease response
Faster diagnosis, faster containment.
Supports an industry
Backing coastal aquaculture livelihoods.
Scalable workflow
Built to extend to other microscopy.
87% agreement with expert diagnosis, in early testing alongside Dr. David Groman, Head of Aquatic Diagnostics at the Atlantic Veterinary College.
An early-stage result from an ongoing collaboration, not an independently validated performance claim. Validation is underway.
Early proof this is worth building.
non-dilutive funding raised, across three competitions.
interviews conducted so far with farmers, pathologists, and industry contacts — validating the problem and shaping the product.
Same workflow problem. A much larger long-term platform.
Oysters + MSX
Prove the model where the need is sharpest and the collaboration is live.
Oysters + other diseases
Extend the same review workflow to more pathogens in the same tissue.
Other aquaculture species
A general platform for aquatic histopathology across aquaculture.
A multidisciplinary team out of UPEI.
Ana Kwon
COO
Operations, UI/UX, commercialization.
Jonathan Zul
CTO
AI development, technical architecture.
Daniel López
CFO
Financial strategy and venture modelling.
Supported by & working with
Affiliations and program support. Not a claim of endorsement.
Where AquaPath is headed.
Product readiness
Extending validation with AVC, hardening the model, and preparing a pilot-ready release.
Venture setup
Formal incorporation, IP and data agreements, and building out the founding team.
Market launch
Paid pilots with diagnostic labs, starting with MSX in oysters.