iPSC Passage Timing from Striated Colony Pattern Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining the passage timing of pluripotent stem cells, such as iPS cells, rely on visual observation, leading to variability among workers and inability to assess colony maturity accurately, which can result in inadequate culture continuation.
Innovation Solution
A passage timing calculation device and method that analyzes striated patterns in pluripotent stem cell images over time to detect a change point, calculating the passage timing based on this analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual observation is used to determine passage timing, then the method is simple and easy to operate, but there is variation among workers and inability to accurately assess colony maturity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical visual observation method with an image processing system that captures microscope images, extracts striated pattern features, and automatically determines passage timing. This substitution eliminates human variability while maintaining operational simplicity through automated analysis of colony morphology changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent monitors changes in the area occupied by striated patterns over time as a quantitative parameter to determine colony maturity. By tracking the time change in extraction target region area and detecting change points, the system transforms subjective visual assessment into objective parameter-based determination, improving measurement precision without significantly increasing complexity.
2Measurement precision
If cells are collected and measured in a collecting bag, then the number of cells can be measured and adjusted, but it is not possible to determine whether maturity of a colony is sufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary image analysis to detect change points in striated pattern area before the passage procedure is executed. By determining colony maturity in advance through automated image processing, the system ensures that passage timing is optimized based on actual colony development stage, preventing both premature and delayed passages while maintaining culture efficiency.
3Reliability
If workers visually observe cell sizes to determine maturity, then the process is simple, but there may be variation among workers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical visual observation process with an automated image processing system that captures images, extracts striated pattern regions, calculates area changes over time, and detects change points objectively. This substitution eliminates worker variability and ensures consistent, reliable passage timing determination across different operators while maintaining operational simplicity through automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A passage timing calculation device includes a processor and a memory encoded with instructions executed by the processor, wherein the instructions causing the processor to perform operations comprising calculating a time change in an area occupied by an extraction target region that is a region in which a striated pattern appears from a plurality of images of pluripotent stem cells captured at different times, detecting a change point of the time change in an area occupied by the extraction target region, and calculating a passage timing of the pluripotent stem cells on the basis of the change point.