CLEVELAND, Ohio — The National Institutes of Health awarded a $2.5 million research grant to support medical technology invented at Case Western Reserve University, the university said in a recent news release.
The research grant was awarded jointly to Case Western’s Susann Brady-Kalnay and Cleveland-based BioInVision Inc., which is a spinout company from CWRU. Brady-Kalnay is a professor of molecular biology and microbiology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
The grant will fund research exploring the use of artificial intelligence and “machine learning” software to create an image of an entire mouse in hours, the university said.
The new techniques allow researchers to track individual cells—like migrating cancer cells or T-cells—to evaluate cell-based treatments like immunotherapy.
BioInVision specializes in microscopic imaging and specialized image processing. The company’s CryoViz imaging technology was originally developed at CWRU and licensed exclusively to BioInVision.
The company was co-founded by double-CWRU alumni and chief executive officer Debashish Roy and David Wilson, a professor of biomedical engineering and radiology, and the company’s chief technology officer.
Madhu Gargesha, BioInVision’s principal investigator for this research grant, is a former post-doctorate student from the CWRU biomedical engineering department. David Wald, co-investigator on the grant, is a professor of pathology at CWRU.
The CryoViz cryo-imaging device uses a microscope, robotics, imaging and advanced software to create high-resolution, three-dimensional images of biological samples at the single-cell level.
Treating diseases first requires being able to find specific cells—which is challenging because they travel within the body and can “hide.”
“Right now, we don’t know where all the cells go when tracking cancer cells or cell-based therapies, so we are not sure what type of processes to target or how therapies might be improved,” Brady-Kalnay said.
“If you wanted to do this with traditional methods, it might take millions of tissue sections,” Brady-Kalnay said. “Using a new AI algorithm BioInVision is developing, imaging an entire mouse—including identifying all its organs—could take a matter of hours.”
Small Business Innovation Research grants support small businesses that collaborate with universities on research and commercialization, bringing revenue to both the company and university while boosting regional economic development, CWRU said.
Original source: US