Advanced Cell Diagnostics and Definiens Develop Quantitative Biomarker Tools

A technological leader in molecular pathology, Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD; Hayward, CA, USA), has partnered with a provider for biomedical imaging and data analyses.

The biomedical image company Definiens (Munich, Germany) will develop a unique and proprietary image analysis application for ACD that provides users with powerful analysis capabilities.

Under the agreement, Definiens will develop a unique and proprietary image analysis application for ACD that provides users with powerful analysis capabilities. Definiens software, based on its Definiens XD framework, offers users with accurate, robust, and scalable image analysis solutions for a wide range of histology analysis. The strategic partnership will develop image analysis applications that will enable scientists to quantify specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules accurately within individual cells in routine clinical specimen. The joint venture will build on ACD's RNAscope platform and add new specialized image analysis solutions that will automatically process and analyze images from RNAscope assays.

ACD's RNAscope is a novel and proprietary RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) method that can detect and quantify virtually any expressed gene at single molecule sensitivity in individual cells in all major biological specimen types, including cell lines, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections. As the most clinically robust RNA ISH assay available, RNAscope enables the fastest path from genomic discovery to validated biomarkers and clinical diagnostic tests.

Yuling Luo, PhD, president and CEO of ACD, said, "This advanced image analysis solution will bring objective and accurate quantification to RNAscope and enable a new generation of diagnostic applications such as circulating tumor cell detection and molecular analysis. For the first time, gene expression can be measured quantitatively at single cell resolution and interpreted by pathologists within histopathological context."

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Advanced Cell Diagnostics
Definiens