ThinkCyte Inc., a company focusing on the development of novel cell analytics and sorting platforms for applications in cell therapy, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics, announced today the publication of their “in-silico ghost cytometry (iSGC)” technology in eLife. The study was led by Dr. Sadao Ota, associate professor at Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, and ThinkCyte’s co-founder and CSO.
The same team previously reported on the novel ghost cytometry (GC) technique, which utilizes proprietary optical designs combined with artificial intelligence to enable high-throughput, high-content analysis and sorting of cells, in a recent article in Science. Compared to conventional flow cytometry and microscopy techniques, GC can simultaneously capture high-content data with high speed and has the potential to revolutionize life science research and cell therapy manufacturing.
In this study, the team developed an “in silico–labeling” method, where a machine learning approach was used to identify unique optical features that matched cellular phenotypes. The iSGC platform could discern and classify cells based on target phenotypes, without the need for molecular markers or labels. The paper demonstrated several use cases of the novel iSGC technique including in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) differentiation and 5-part differential of white blood cells (WBCs), which can be applied in clinical applications for stem cell therapy and hematologic diagnostics, respectively.
“Being able to analyze and sort cells in a label-free manner can significantly improve the overall process and workflow efficiencies in life science research and cell therapy manufacturing,” said Dr. Ota. “The iSGC platform can be integrated into process automation systems to avoid contamination risks and preserve precious cell samples, for example.”
Publication details
Title: In silico-labeled ghost cytometry
Authors: Masashi Ugawa, Yoko Kawamura, Keisuke Toda, Kazuki Teranishi, Hikari Morita, Hiroaki Adachi, Ryo Tamoto, Hiroko Nomaru, Keiji Nakagawa, Keiki Sugimoto, Evgeniia Borisova, Yuri An, Yusuke Konishi, Seiichiro Tabata, Soji Morishita, Misa Imai, Tomoiku Takaku, Marito Araki, Norio Komatsu, Yohei Hayashi, Issei Sato, Ryoichi Horisaki, Hiroyuki Noji, & Sadao Ota
Journal: eLife (doi: 10.7554/eLife.67660)
About ThinkCyte Inc.
ThinkCyte, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 2016, is a biotechnology company which develops innovative life science research, diagnostics, and treatments using integrated multidisciplinary technologies. The company focuses on the research and development of novel cell analytics and soring platforms for applications in drug discovery, cell therapy, and clinical diagnostic using its proprietary high-throughput machine vision-activated cell sorting technology based on ghost cytometry. In June 2019, the company was selected for J-Startup by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. For more information, please visit our website.
