Membrane Potential Imaging for Rapid Living Biopsy Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional biopsy analysis techniques are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often rely on non-living tissue, limiting the scope of analysis and making it difficult to determine the location of abnormalities within the tissue sample.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a substrate and voltage sensitive dye is used to transfer living cells from a tissue to a substrate, maintaining their viability and spatial relationship, allowing for the assessment of membrane potential patterns to determine physiological characteristics and locate abnormalities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional biopsy evaluation methods are used, then diagnostic accuracy can be achieved, but the process becomes time-intensive and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and transfers only the necessary cellular information (membrane potential patterns) from the tissue biopsy to a substrate, separating the diagnostic function from the complex tissue processing. This allows rapid assessment of abnormal tissue without requiring full histological evaluation of the entire biopsy sample.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical and manual process of histological sectioning and evaluation with a biochemical assay using voltage-sensitive dyes and fluorescence imaging. This substitution automates the detection process and eliminates the need for time-consuming manual examination of tissue sections.
2Measurement precision
If traditional biopsy evaluation methods are used, then diagnostic accuracy can be achieved, but the process requires extensive labor
Solution Approach 1:
The assay system performs self-evaluation through the inherent properties of voltage-sensitive dyes that automatically bind to cell membranes and fluoresce in response to membrane potential. The system requires no manual intervention during the measurement process, eliminating labor-intensive evaluation steps while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
3Loss of information
If traditional tissue processing methods are used, then diagnostic information can be obtained, but cell viability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the state parameter of the tissue sample from fixed/dead to living/viable. By using a protocol that maintains cell viability throughout the assay process, the system preserves physiological information including membrane potential, which is lost in traditional fixed tissue processing methods.
4Productivity
If rapid assessment methods are used, then time efficiency is improved, but diagnostic accuracy may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses voltage-sensitive dyes that produce distinct color/fluorescence changes in response to membrane potential variations. This optical signal provides rapid, visual differentiation between abnormal and normal cells, enabling fast assessment without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy through quantitative fluorescence measurement.
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
Facilitates a facile and cost-effective analysis of tissue samples by maintaining cell viability and spatial relationships, enabling rapid identification of abnormalities such as cancer through imaging of membrane potential patterns.
Implementation Method 1
exposing cells on a membrane to a voltage sensitive dye
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for assessing membrane potential are provided. In some embodiments, the methods and systems, described herein, may allow spatial patterns of membrane potential to be facilely obtained. For instance, a method may comprise transferring a population of cells from a tissue to a substrate. The transfer process may substantially maintain the viability of and/or the spatial relationship between the cells. The cells on the membrane may be exposed to a voltage sensitive dye. The dye may allow the membrane potential of individual cells on the substrate to be imaged or otherwise detected. The individual cell membrane potentials when imaged together on the substrate may form a spatial membrane potential pattern. The spatial membrane potential pattern may be used to assess one or more physiological characteristics of the cells. The methods and systems may be used for a wide variety of applications, including the assessment of biopsies.