Collaboration pairs Vistapath’s Sentinel AI-powered grossing platform with Elsie by Tactus™, an autonomous laboratory assistant, to create the first integrated path from specimen imaging to robotic specimen handling
SAN DIEGO, CA and CAMBRIDGE, MA, October 14th, 2026 – Tactus AI, Inc., a developer of intelligent humanoid robots and laboratory-orchestration software for regulated laboratories, and Vistapath Biosystems, Inc., developer of the Sentinel AI-powered specimen imaging and grossing platform, today announced a strategic partnership to bring data-guided robotics to the anatomic pathology gross room. The companies will integrate Sentinel’s specimen-level imaging and data with the physical capabilities of Elsie, Tactus AI’s autonomous laboratory assistant, so that the information a laboratory captures about each specimen can directly inform how that specimen is handled, trimmed, and moved through the laboratory.
Grossing, the examination, description, and sectioning of tissue specimens before processing, is one of the most labor-intensive and least automated steps in anatomic pathology. It depends on a shrinking pool of trained personnel, exposes staff to formaldehyde, and remains largely undocumented beyond a dictated description. Sentinel has changed the first part of that equation by capturing high-resolution images and structured data at the grossing bench, bringing computer vision, real-time quality assurance, and laboratory-information-system connectivity to a process that was previously opaque. Elsie is designed to change the second part by taking on the repetitive physical steps of the workflow alongside, and under the direction of, existing laboratory staff.
Under the partnership, Vistapath will install a Sentinel system in Tactus AI’s San Diego laboratory, where the companies will train and validate Elsie on gross-room workflows. Work will begin with specimen and cassette handling and transport between Sentinel and downstream processing, and will progress toward exploring deeper integration of robotics, imaging and data into additional complex, tissue focused tasks. These workflows are in development and not yet ready for clinical use. The companies have also entered into a co-marketing agreement and will jointly present the combined solution to clinical, commercial, and research laboratories in the United States.
“Laboratories are under pressure to do more with limited staff, and the data needed to automate more of the workflow already exists at the point of specimen capture. Sentinel was built to make grossing measurable, traceable, and consistent. Partnering with Tactus AI lets us put that data to work physically, through a robot that can act on the tissue data that Sentinel collects. Together we can offer laboratories a gross room that is safer for their team and more consistent for every specimen,” said Timothy Spong, Chief Executive Officer of Vistapath.
“Grossing is the step in anatomic pathology where automation has been hardest to achieve, because every specimen is different. Vistapath has solved the perception problem: Sentinel knows what each specimen is, where it should be cut, and where it is going next. Elsie supplies the hands and the mobility to act on that knowledge. Combining a mature, clinically deployed imaging platform with an autonomous laboratory assistant gives laboratories a practical route to reducing manual handling and formaldehyde exposure, with qualified pathology staff retaining control over critical decisions,” said Claire Weston, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tactus AI.
The two companies bring complementary and independent capabilities to the partnership. Vistapath designs and delivers the imaging, AI, and data infrastructure of the modern gross room, with Sentinel deployed in commercial and hospital laboratories across the United States. Tactus AI designs and builds Elsie and the Tactus lab orchestration platform that coordinates robots, instruments, and laboratory information systems. Each company retains its own technology, products, and customer relationships; the partnership is structured so that laboratories can adopt Sentinel, Elsie, or the integrated solution according to their own priorities.
Both companies will be at Pathology Visions 2026, October 16–18 in San Diego, where Tactus AI will exhibit with Elsie on site. Attendees are invited to visit the Tactus AI booth (Booth 412) to see Elsie in operation and to learn more about the Vistapath collaboration.
About Tactus AI
Tactus AI designs and builds intelligent humanoid robots and the Tactus lab orchestration platform to automate workflows in regulated laboratories, beginning with anatomic pathology. Its autonomous laboratory assistant, Elsie by Tactus™, is designed and built in San Diego, California, and is delivered through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that lets laboratories add robotic capacity without capital investment. Tactus AI is ISO 27001 certified, has completed a SOC 2 Type II audit, and operates in alignment with HIPAA and GDPR. The company was founded by a leadership team with a track record of building and scaling AI companies in pathology and clinical diagnostics. For more information, visit www.tactus.ai.
About Vistapath
Vistapath Biosystems, Inc. is a medical technology company modernizing anatomic pathology through automation and artificial intelligence. Its flagship product, Sentinel, is an AI-powered grossing platform that uses computer vision and machine learning to standardize specimen handling, improve traceability, and provide real-time quality assurance, connecting with laboratory information systems and digital pathology workflows to capture and document grossing data. Sentinel is deployed in commercial and hospital pathology laboratories across the United States, United Kingdom and EU. Vistapath is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.vistapath.ai.
Elsie by Tactus™ is a trademark of Tactus AI, Inc. Sentinel is a trademark of Vistapath Biosystems, Inc.
Media Contacts
Tactus AI
Dawn Eastin
Tactus AI, Inc.
6760 Top Gun St., Suite 110, San Diego, CA 92121
press@tactus.ai
Vistapath
Lily Connor
Vistapath Biosystems, Inc.
1166 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
info@vistapath.ai
