Optical Cell Viability Detection for Synergistic Drug Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cancer treatment methods face challenges in overcoming resistance and achieving personalized therapy due to interpatient variability and adverse drug interactions, with existing combination therapies often being ineffective in maximizing efficacy and minimizing toxicity.
Innovation Solution
A method involving ex vivo cell culture and optical signal analysis using a synergy augmented model (SAM) to identify synergistic drug combinations by quantifying cell membrane motion and viability, allowing for the prediction of treatment responses and selection of tailored regimens based on patient-specific data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If combination therapies are used to overcome resistance and maximize efficacy, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but adverse drug-drug interactions and toxicity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs ex vivo testing of drug combinations on patient-derived cancer cells before clinical administration. This preliminary action identifies synergistic combinations and predicts adverse interactions in advance, allowing clinicians to select effective combinations while avoiding toxic ones, thus resolving the contradiction between maximizing efficacy and minimizing harm.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses optical signal analysis to continuously monitor cell viability and drug concentration in real-time during ex vivo testing. This feedback mechanism provides quantitative data on treatment response, enabling identification of synergistic combinations that achieve maximum efficacy with minimal toxicity, thereby resolving the contradiction between treatment effectiveness and adverse interactions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If combination therapies are used to address interpatient variability, then personalized treatment is improved, but device complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a multi-functional ex vivo testing platform that can evaluate multiple drug combinations simultaneously using patient-derived cells. This universal system handles various cancer types, drug classes, and combination regimens through a single integrated platform, reducing overall complexity while enabling personalized treatment selection for each patient.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses optical signal analysis to measure multiple parameters (cell viability, drug concentration, treatment response) from the same ex vivo culture system. By extracting multiple pieces of information from a single testing process, the system achieves personalized treatment capability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If ex vivo testing with optical signal analysis is used to identify synergistic combinations, then measurement precision is improved, but time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous optical monitoring of ex vivo cell cultures, capturing treatment response data at multiple time points without interrupting the experiment. This continuous measurement approach achieves high precision in identifying synergistic combinations while minimizing total testing time compared to discrete endpoint assays, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and time consumption.
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
This approach enables the identification of effective synergistic drug combinations that overcome resistance and improve treatment outcomes by accurately predicting patient responses and optimizing drug interactions, thereby enhancing cancer treatment efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
capturing a first optical signal from the cells contacted with the first active agent at a first time point; measuring the concentration of the first active agent at a second time point; capturing a second optical signal from the cells contacted with the first active agent at a second time point; analyzing the first optical signal and the second optical signal to detect cell membrane motion of the cells
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of detecting synergistic drug combinations for the treatment of a cancer, comprising: culturing infected cells in a chamber: contacting the cells in with a first active agent; measuring and/or estimating the concentration of the first active agent at a first and second time point; capturing a first and second optical signal from the contacted cells at the first and second time points; analyzing the first optical signal and the second optical signal to detect cell membrane motion of the cells; analyzing the cell membrane motion to quantify the viability of the cells following contact with the first active agent thereby detecting the drug induced damage at the second time point; measuring, calculating, and/or estimating the repair rate of the cells, therapeutic threshold, rate of sensitivity of therapy, and/or clonal composition of the tumor; repeating said steps with a second active agent.