Apian partners with Synnovis to build a foundation world model for pathology lab logistics with NVIDIA
Using NVIDIA Physical AI, Apian & Synnovis are teaching AI how complex laboratory workflows operate at scale leveraging robots that have moved thousands of real patient samples.
Apian today announced plans to develop a foundation world model for pathology lab logistics and automation, collaborating with Synnovis, one of SYNLAB UK & Ireland’s four NHS pathology services, and NVIDIA while leveraging the NVIDIA physical AI stack to transform how diagnostic laboratory environments operate.
Building on photorealistic digital twins constructed for major clinical facilities like Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Apian recently closed the loop between simulation and reality. In live supervised trials at the Synnovis hub laboratory in Blackfriars, Apian’s autonomous ground robots delivered more than 1,400 live patient samples, connecting drone landing pads with the diagnostic laboratory through autonomous ground transport.
Now, Apian and Synnovis are taking the next step: moving from modeling where healthcare happens to teaching AI how healthcare laboratories operate.
Apian logistics robot delivering patient samples in the Synnovis hub laboratory
Why Pathology Lab Logistics?
Pathology is the diagnostic engine of modern healthcare. In the UK alone, around two billion Pathology tests are carried out each year, informing roughly 70% of clinical decisions. Yet much of the physical work behind those tests still depends on manual "human middleware": highly trained staff physically carrying samples between landing pads, centrifuges, and analysers. That physical movement is critical to the entire clinical pathway. A delayed sample does not just slow down a laboratory; it delays diagnosis, postpones treatment, and keeps hospital beds occupied longer than necessary.
Pathology logistics is therefore an ideal proving ground for Physical AI. A single medical sample moves between people, software, autonomous robots, transport systems, and laboratory equipment before producing a diagnostic result. Apian’s orchestration platform connects these disparate elements into one intelligent system, with the aim of understanding the entire pathway as a unified physical workflow.
Teaching AI How Laboratory Logistics Work
Apian and Synnovis are combining observations of real-world laboratory workflows with data from laboratory equipment, software and the physical environment, using NVIDIA’s physical AI stack to develop the foundation world model. The goal is to teach AI not just where objects move, but the spatial dynamics and operational decisions behind complex lab operations.
To bring this intelligence layer to life, the initiative leverages NVIDIA's advanced physical AI stack:
NVIDIA Omniverse & NVIDIA Isaac Sim: Providing high-fidelity 3D digital twins where robotic agents practice navigating complex lab layouts, lifts, and dynamic obstacles in simulation before live deployment.
NVIDIA Cosmos World Models: Using NVIDIA Cosmos foundation world models to explore real-world operational telemetry and visual data can help AI understand and predict physical interactions and spatial dynamics inside complex laboratory environments.
This creates a new class of training data for Physical AI. As more sample deliveries are performed, telemetry feeds back into the simulation, making each deployment smarter and safer. The ambition is not pathology laboratories without people, but pathology laboratories where automation takes more of the repetitive physical movement of sample logistics, giving specialists more time to focus on vital diagnostic care.
“Getting robots to move thousands of real patient samples was an important milestone. But it also gave us something potentially much more valuable: real-world experience of how physical healthcare actually works. Now we want to turn that experience into intelligence. We started by teaching robots how to navigate using NVIDIA-powered digital twins. With Synnovis and NVIDIA, we are building a foundation world model for pathology lab logistics so healthcare professionals can spend less time moving samples and more time on the diagnostic work that requires their expertise.” — Alexander Trewby, CEO at Apian
“Physical AI opens new possibilities for automating complex laboratory workflows. By combining NVIDIA Omniverse, Isaac Sim and Cosmos with Apian’s robotics experience and Synnovis’ operational expertise, this collaboration aims to bring intelligent automation to pathology logistics, giving specialists more time to focus on diagnostic care,” said Anthony Hills, NVIDIA.
“Our scientists perform cutting edge medical diagnostics every day, providing answers for patients and healthcare professionals when they’re most critical. Utilising autonomous ground robots and AI to transport samples through our laboratories means our people can spend more time doing what only they can do – supporting better decision‑making and better outcomes for patients. – Mark Dollar, CEO at SYNLAB UK & Ireland
