Bead-Indexed Cell Monitoring for Repeated Single-Cell Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for monitoring dynamic changes in cells, such as flow cytometry, allow only single observation and fail to track sequential changes in large cell populations effectively.
Innovation Solution
Enclosing at least one cell and at least one bead in a compartment, using imaging information of the bead as an index to repeatedly measure state changes over time, allowing clear identification and tracking of individual cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If flow cytometry is used to measure individual cells, then measurement efficiency and accuracy are improved, but the ability to track sequential dynamic changes is lost because cells lose their order after measurement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces beads as intermediary objects that are attached to cells before measurement. These beads serve as persistent identifiers that remain associated with their parent cells throughout the measurement process and subsequent culturing, enabling traceability of sequential changes without disrupting the high-throughput measurement capability of flow cytometry
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the cell population by attaching unique beads to individual cells, creating distinguishable units. This segmentation allows each cell to be individually tracked through multiple measurement cycles while maintaining the overall efficiency of population-level analysis
2Productivity
If conventional flow cytometry is used for single cell analysis, then high throughput measurement is achieved, but repeated measurement of the same cell over time becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Beads act as mediators that bridge the gap between high-throughput measurement and repeated observation. The beads remain attached to cells through measurement and culturing processes, enabling the same cell population to be measured repeatedly without losing track of individual cell identities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a cycle of measurement and recovery where cells with attached beads are measured, then recovered and cultured, and subsequently measured again. This repeated measurement-recovery cycle enables longitudinal tracking while maintaining high throughput
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective monitoring and classification of dynamic changes in cells or their derivatives, even in large populations, using flow cytometry to track individual sequential changes.
Implementation Method 1
use of imaging techniques such as flow cytometry, microscopy, or imaging cytometry in which individual cells are dispersed into a fluid, the fluid is finely flowed, and individual cells are optically analyzed
Implementation Method 2
the imaging information of the bead is spatial information based on electromagnetic wave, fluorescence, phase, scattering, reflection, coherent Raman, Raman, or absorption spectrum
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for simple and effective monitoring of a dynamic change in a cell or a derivative thereof. More specifically, the present invention provides a method for monitoring a dynamic change in a cell, which includes preparing a plurality of compartments containing at least one cell or a derivative thereof and at least one bead, and repeatedly obtaining over time both state measurement information of the cell or the derivative thereof in each compartment, and imaging information of the bead to monitor a dynamic change in each cell or derivative thereof in the plurality of compartments, wherein the imaging information of the bead in each compartment can be clearly distinguished from each other and becomes an index of identifying the cell or the derivative thereof contained in each compartment.