SCREEN Life Sciences has had a unique journey in becoming the company it is today. Originating in Kyoto, Japan, they have existed for over 100 years with their main business being semiconductors. Today, 70% of their business is still from semiconductors, however along with this, SCREEN also manufactures graphic displays, graphic arts equipment, and crucially, imaging technology for 3D disease models.
Sumeer Dhar is Director Scientific Alliances of SCREEN’s Life Sciences division. In this presentation, he outlined the company’s imaging platform for imaging complex 3D structures. Cell 3imager NX uses XYZ adapted technology and omnifocal projection along with Z stacking to produce clear, bright-field images of 3D cell cultures.
NX takes an organoid sitting anywhere within its well and makes slices along its Z axis which are then scanned – this Z stacking ensures that each image is properly in focus and none of the information is lost. Dhar then showcased SCREEN’s imaging technology with a case study that the company had worked on in Japan.
Cystic fibrosis is a challenging disease with limited treatment options. To investigate the disease for potential drug development, the team used forskolin-induced swelling assays with fluorescence-based methodologies to image and measure cystic fibrosis-derived organoids. Brightfield imaging and segmentation process improved object identification and analysis. From this analysis they were able to identify changes in organoid swelling with forskolin and CFTR inhibitors.
The technology has also been used for drug efficacy studies, including ADCC based assays and single spheroid drug efficacy assays, demonstrating its versatility in various research applications.
Dhar concluded by briefly discussing SCREENS OCT technology, an infrared laser-based platform used for detailed imaging of organoids and other 3D cultures, highlighting its potential for further research and applications.
