Cell Tracking System for Positional Data Preservation During Dispersion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sample preparation systems for cell analysis lose original positional information of cells when dispersing them for collection, making it difficult to track the positions of individual cells, especially in three-dimensional samples like cell masses or tissues.
Innovation Solution
A sample preparation system that includes a tracking section to associate cells with their original positions by disconnecting part of the junctions between adjacent cells and dispersing the cell group while maintaining positional information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cells are dispersed by disconnecting junctions between adjacent cells, then cell collection becomes easier, but positional information of individual cells is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary imaging of the cell group before dispersion to record the initial positions of all cells. This preliminary action ensures that positional information is captured before the cells are dispersed and their positions change, allowing later tracking of individual cells throughout the dispersion and collection process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates optical copies (images) of the cell group at different time points during the dispersion process. These image copies serve as references to track and identify individual cells before and after dispersion, maintaining positional information without physically disturbing the cells.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cells are dispersed for individual collection, then single cell analysis becomes possible, but three-dimensional positional information is difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from three-dimensional cell group imaging to two-dimensional image analysis by flattening the z-axis positional information into focal plane selections. This dimensionality change allows the system to process and track cells individually while preserving their spatial relationships through systematic imaging at different focal depths.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary three-dimensional imaging of the cell group to establish the initial spatial configuration of all cells. This preliminary action captures the three-dimensional positional information before dispersion occurs, enabling subsequent tracking of individual cells and their original positions in the three-dimensional structure.
3Productivity
If cells are separated for easy collection, then individual cell processing is improved, but original cell group structure information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous imaging and tracking throughout the entire dispersion and collection process. This continuity ensures that the relationship between cells before and after dispersion is never broken, allowing reconstruction of the original cell group structure information even as cells are separated for individual processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a series of optical copies (images) of the cell group at different stages of dispersion. These image copies preserve the structural information of the cell group at each stage, allowing later analysis of the original structure while enabling efficient individual cell processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A sample preparation system (100) includes a position identification section (34) that associates a plurality of cells constituting a cell group with the respective plurality of cells constituting the cell group in which at least a part of junctions between adjacent ones of the plurality of cells is disconnected, in a dispersion process of (i) disconnecting at least the part of the junctions between the adjacent ones of the plurality of cells in the cell group in which the plurality of cells are joined to each other and (ii) dispersing the cell group. This allows the realization of a technique of collecting a cell and specifying the position of the collected cell in an original cell group.