How a Pathology Lab Replaced Manual Slide Archiving with a Mission-Critical App in 4 Months

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Non-negotiable reliability and accuracy

Cypath is a pathology and diagnostic laboratory that manages physical tissue samples and diagnostic slides with strict traceability requirements.

The company’s work impacts patient diagnosis and treatment. The reliability and accuracy are non-negotiable.

In 2025, Cypath partnered with Appy Makers, a France-based web agency that helps mid-sized companies structure their internal IT systems.

Appy Makers supports clients both in selecting standard software and in building custom applications when no off-the-shelf solution fits.

“Appy Makers was created three years ago by three co-founders. We had all worked in different companies before in industrial, medical, finance, IT and software, and we saw the same problem everywhere: companies struggling to adapt their internal tools to their specific needs.” - Vincent Stival, co-founder

Outgrowing manual archiving

For years, Cypath relied on a manual archiving workflow to store thousands of diagnostic slides every day. Technicians organized and tracked slides in physical drawers.

Slides followed a fixed chronological order, which forced technicians to wait for slides to arrive in sequence before closing drawers. Processing delays often disrupted that flow and left multiple drawers open at the same time.

Retrieving a slide required manual search and verification.

As volumes increased, the team needed a system that was at least as reliable, while being faster and more efficient.

“Cypath had already worked with one of our co-founders in a previous company. When we launched Appy Makers, we talked a lot about no-code and low-code, and they got curious. We met halfway, and the conversation started from there.” — Vincent Stival

Defining the requirements

Cypath’s expectations went beyond just replacing the manual archiving process. The solution had to be:

• Fast enough to handle scanning and archiving throughout the day.
• Flexible enough to mirror how slides are physically stored and retrieved in the lab.
• Scalable enough to support thousands of new records every day without slowing down.

After searching for a standard solution on the market without success, Cypath decided to explore a custom application with Appy Makers.

Managing 3,000–6,000 diagnostic slides per day without glitches

Appy Makers built a custom internal application using WeWeb for the UI and workflows, and Xano for backend logic and APIs.

“In this context, a standard tool wouldn’t work. We didn’t want to force Cypath to adapt to something generic. The tool had to adapt to them, not the opposite. So we built the application around how people actually work in the lab around the real usage and the real constraints.” — Vincent Stival

The interface was designed tablet-first, with clear layouts and simple navigation.

How it works: from scan to archive in seconds

Old process:

Receive slide → Organize by file number → Wait for incomplete sequences → Store chronologically in drawers → Locate later by manual file lookup

New process (WeWeb app):

Scan drawer QR → Scan slide → Auto-recorded with timestamp + exact location → Search by ID retrieves location instantly

The entire archiving action now takes 2 seconds per slide, and with the new app in place:

• Cypath eliminated most manual archiving work: teams freed up the equivalent of approximately three full-time roles.
• Teams processed work 3x faster: technicians completed tasks that previously took days in a fraction of the time.
• Teams retrieved archived data in seconds: instead of searching drawers by file number and waiting for missing slides, teams now locate archived slides instantly.
• The app reduced daily operational pressure: faster access to reliable data removed bottlenecks and reduced time spent searching or double-checking records.
• The application sustained high daily volumes: Cypath confidently manages 3,000–6,000 slides without performance issues.

After the initial deployment, Cypath teams adopted the app across additional sites, including locations outside the pilot.

Built to scale

One of Cypath's biggest concerns was whether a low-code stack could reliably support the scale they need.

Every day, the system processes thousands of new records through quick QR code scans. Any lag, synchronization issue, or data loss would lead to delays.

WeWeb and Xano proved capable of handling this load. After seven months in production, the application had no downtime or critical issues.

Reliability and governance

Previously, slides followed a fixed chronological order, and technicians had to wait for slides to arrive in sequence before closing drawers.

The new application records exact slide locations, which removes the need for strict chronological storage.

Appy Makers added validation steps and business rules to ensure they are stored correctly:

• Required confirmations before archiving: users must confirm key steps before archiving a slide.
• Verification of slide placement: the app checks that slides are assigned to the correct physical location.
• Audit workflows: audit processes review storage accuracy.
• Exact position tracking: each slide’s position inside a drawer is recorded.
• Visual location indicators: the application shows where a slide is located physically.
• Controls for non-chronological storage: rules prevent errors when slides don’t follow a time-based order.

The result is a process that is not only faster than manual archiving, but safer.

Ownership as a strategic choice

“Low-code reduces lock-in risk. With WeWeb and Xano, clients keep ownership of the application and the data, and they can maintain it internally or work with another partner later.” — Vincent Stival

If Cypath chooses to maintain the app internally or work with another agency, they can do so without rebuilding the system. 

Because the logic is visual and documented, onboarding new developers or partners is straightforward. 

Why WeWeb

For Appy Makers, WeWeb became a core part of how they build internal tools.

The platform’s native integration with Xano, reusable components, and flexible workflows allow them to build quickly while keeping full control.

“Two years ago, we decided to move to WeWeb for all our projects, and we haven’t looked back. It worked better with Xano, it was easier to maintain, and it fit much better with how we wanted to build internal tools.” — Vincent Stival

For Omar Elhadidi, a developer at Appy Makers, choosing WeWeb helped remove friction from day-to-day development.

“With other tools, every time we changed something in Xano, we had to resync everything manually, and it could take a long time. With WeWeb, we just refresh the connection and everything is already in sync. It saves a lot of time.”  — Omar Elhadidi 

Designed with agency workflows in mind

Omar also highlights how WeWeb supports agency workflows, especially through reusable components.

“In WeWeb, we can share components between different applications. We created a model app with the components we use often, and we can import them whenever we need. That wasn’t possible for us before.” — Omar Elhadidi

This helps the team standardize patterns and deliver projects faster across multiple applications.

Easier handoffs and long-term maintainability

Because Appy Makers regularly hands projects over to clients, maintainability matters from day one.

“We give the client their own WeWeb space, so they can maintain the application themselves. If they want to work with another agency later, they can. There’s no problem.” — Omar Elhadidi

Clear workflows and readable logic make handover straightforward and support Appy Makers’ no-lock-in approach.

Flexibility when needed 

Omar values that WeWeb stays flexible when edge cases appear.

“Whenever we were blocked by something, JavaScript helped us. We could plug it into workflows and move forward.” — Omar Elhadidi

He also points to WeWeb AI as a practical tool for handling more complex logic.

“We used WeWeb AI quite a bit to modify variables and expressions. It helped us generate JavaScript logic when we needed it.” — Omar Elhadidi

What’s next for Appy Makers and Cypath

Appy Makers and Cypath are already working on several new internal applications, with more planned.

Fast iteration plays a key role in this collaboration. Appy Makers can show working versions early, collect feedback quickly, and adjust without long development cycles.

“Now, when Cypath has an idea, they think directly about how to turn it into an application.” — Vincent Stival