Robotic Microscope Tracks Cells

Originally Published MDDI July 2002

R&D DIGEST

Diseases that can affect the size and shape of human cells have proven to be challenging to study using conventional technologies. Because viable cells generally require the warmth and atmosphere of an incubator, they can only be viewed for brief periods of time.

Now, researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease at the University of California, San Francisco have developed a robotic microscope that allows changes in cells to be tracked over time as genes are expressed and the resulting proteins go into action. According to Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, investigator at the Gladstone Institute and UCSF assistant professor of neurology and physiology, the device overcomes the limitations of traditional techniques.

The robotic microscope incorporates systems that can automatically focus the objective lens, move the stage, and photograph the sample. The microscope first focuses on an internal reference point within the tissue culture plate containing the cells. It then moves the plate a precise distance, refocuses itself, and takes a photograph. This process is repeated until images are obtained of the entire plate or a specified area.

Finkbeiner also developed a computer program to automatically analyze the photos within a matter of minutes. The system can then measure cells with specific morphologies, specific amounts of proteins, or other features. The researcher explains that the plate can be returned to the microscope days later, and the same cells can be identified and re-examined.

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