In molecular pathology research, preparing tissue for analysis often means sacrificing a chemically stained slide to guide extraction from a separate unstained section—a process that introduces variability because the tumor boundaries may not align perfectly between different slides. Researchers have long needed a way to see tissue morphology on the exact section that will undergo molecular testing without consuming that tissue. ClearStain Virtual H&E from Pictor Labs, now integrated into Techcyte Fusion AP, offers a practical solution by generating a virtual hematoxylin and eosin image directly from a brightfield scan of the unstained section.
This integration lets research teams review tissue morphology and select regions for molecular extraction using an image of the precise section that will be used. Because the section never undergoes chemical staining, it remains fully available for downstream analysis. The result is a more accurate, streamlined workflow that reduces the guesswork and potential misalignment inherent in traditional methods.
What Is ClearStain Virtual H&E?
ClearStain is a proprietary virtual staining technology from Pictor Labs that applies a trained algorithm to brightfield whole-slide images of unstained tissue. The algorithm synthesizes the appearance of an H&E-stained slide, making cellular and tissue structures visible without any chemical processing. The virtual image is generated from the exact same tissue section that will be used for molecular extraction, preserving the sample intact.
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Within the Techcyte Fusion AP platform, researchers can request ClearStain processing from a case. Fusion sends the unstained slide image to Pictor Labs for virtual staining and returns the result to the same case, clearly labeled as virtual and associated with the corresponding tissue block. The virtual H&E appears alongside any chemically stained slides for side-by-side review, allowing pathologists to annotate regions of interest directly on the virtual image to guide tissue collection from the physical slide.
What Stands Out About ClearStain in Fusion AP
The integration of ClearStain into Techcyte Fusion AP offers several notable advantages for research pathology workflows:
Preservation of Tissue for Downstream Analysis
Because the virtual H&E is generated from an unstained section, that same physical slide can be used for DNA, RNA, or protein extraction. There is no need to scrape material from a different, potentially misaligned section. This preserves precious tissue and improves the correlation between morphology and molecular results.
Direct Annotation on the Exact Section
Pathologists can mark tumor regions directly on the virtual H&E image that corresponds to the slide that will be scraped. This eliminates the spatial uncertainty that arises when marking on one slide and transferring to another. The annotations become part of the case record, improving traceability and reproducibility.
Seamless Integration into Existing Workflows
ClearStain is available within the familiar Fusion AP interface, so researchers do not need to switch between different applications or manually match slides. The virtual H&E automatically appears in the same case folder, alongside other slides from the block, and is clearly labeled to avoid confusion with chemically stained images.
Works with Common Brightfield Scanners
The virtual staining process works with supported brightfield whole-slide scanners already used in many laboratories. This means labs with compatible equipment can evaluate the workflow without investing in new hardware. Pictor Labs also offers ClearStain through secure Cloud or On-Prem deployment for standalone use.
Who Is ClearStain Virtual H&E For?
ClearStain Virtual H&E is designed primarily for research teams in biopharma, contract research organizations, and academic pathology laboratories that perform molecular analysis on tissue samples. It is especially useful when only limited tissue is available and every section must be maximized for both morphological review and molecular testing.
Pathologists and pathology assistants who need to guide tissue selection for genomic profiling, biomarker analysis, or other molecular assays will find the virtual H&E workflow reduces the complexity and potential error of transferring target regions between slides. The tool is also valuable for retrospective studies where archived unstained slides can be virtually stained to reveal morphology without using additional tissue.
What Makes ClearStain Worth Considering
Traditional methods require a pathologist to review a chemically stained H&E slide, identify the tumor region, and then try to map that region onto an adjacent unstained section—a process that assumes perfect alignment between different tissue slices. In reality, tissue architecture changes across serial sections, and unstained slides offer little visual information to distinguish tumor from necrosis, fibrosis, or inflammation. ClearStain directly addresses this gap by creating a morphological image from the exact section that will be used, providing a clear target for tissue scraping.
The integration with Techcyte Fusion AP further strengthens the value proposition by embedding virtual staining into a comprehensive digital pathology platform. Fusion already unifies anatomic and clinical pathology workflows, and the addition of ClearStain expands its utility for molecular pathology. Researchers can access virtual H&E images as part of their standard case review, annotate regions, and export those annotations for downstream processing—all within a single, secure environment.
Pictor Labs’ commitment to virtual staining extends beyond H&E; the company also offers DeepStain, ReStain, and RetroStain technologies, which can generate additional biological information from existing tissue without consuming new samples. ClearStain serves as a foundational capability for laboratories beginning to adopt virtual staining in their molecular workflows.
Verdict
ClearStain Virtual H&E, now available in Techcyte Fusion AP, delivers a practical solution to a long-standing challenge in molecular tissue selection. By providing a virtual H&E image of the exact section used for extraction, it improves accuracy, preserves tissue, and integrates smoothly into existing digital pathology workflows. For research teams looking to reduce variability and make the most of limited tissue samples, this tool is a significant step forward.
The collaboration between Pictor Labs and Techcyte demonstrates how virtual staining can be tightly woven into the digital pathology ecosystem, setting a new standard for how morphology and molecular analysis connect.
Frequently asked questions
It is a virtual staining algorithm that generates an H&E-like image from a brightfield scan of an unstained tissue section, used for research only.
Traditional H&E chemically stains a separate slide; ClearStain creates a virtual image from the exact unstained section that will be used for molecular extraction, preserving the tissue.
No, it is for Research Use Only and not approved for diagnostic procedures.
It is available within Techcyte Fusion AP and can also be deployed via secure Cloud or On-Prem for use with supported brightfield whole-slide scanners.
You need a compatible brightfield whole-slide scanner; laboratories with such equipment can evaluate the workflow.
Users request ClearStain from a Fusion AP case, the unstained slide image is processed by Pictor Labs, and the virtual H&E is returned to the same case for review and annotation.
Yes, it is available separately through secure Cloud or On-Prem deployment, not just within Fusion AP.
