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Fay ME, Oshinowo O, Iffrig E, Fibben KS, Caruso C, Hansen S, Musick JO, Valdez JM, Azer SS, Mannino RG, Choi H, Zhang DY, Williams EK, Evans EN, Kanne CK, Kemp ML, Sheehan VA, Carden MA, Bennett CM, Wood DK, Lam WA. iCLOTS: open-source, artificial intelligence-enabled software for analyses of blood cells in microfluidic and microscopy-based assays. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5022. [PMID: 37596311 PMCID: PMC10439163 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40522-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023] Open
Abstract
While microscopy-based cellular assays, including microfluidics, have significantly advanced over the last several decades, there has not been concurrent development of widely-accessible techniques to analyze time-dependent microscopy data incorporating phenomena such as fluid flow and dynamic cell adhesion. As such, experimentalists typically rely on error-prone and time-consuming manual analysis, resulting in lost resolution and missed opportunities for innovative metrics. We present a user-adaptable toolkit packaged into the open-source, standalone Interactive Cellular assay Labeled Observation and Tracking Software (iCLOTS). We benchmark cell adhesion, single-cell tracking, velocity profile, and multiscale microfluidic-centric applications with blood samples, the prototypical biofluid specimen. Moreover, machine learning algorithms characterize previously imperceptible data groupings from numerical outputs. Free to download/use, iCLOTS addresses a need for a field stymied by a lack of analytical tools for innovative, physiologically-relevant assays of any design, democratizing use of well-validated algorithms for all end-user biomedical researchers who would benefit from advanced computational methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith E Fay
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Oluwamayokun Oshinowo
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Iffrig
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kirby S Fibben
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Christina Caruso
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Scott Hansen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jamie O Musick
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - José M Valdez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sally S Azer
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Robert G Mannino
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Hyoann Choi
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Dan Y Zhang
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Evelyn K Williams
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Erica N Evans
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Celeste K Kanne
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Melissa L Kemp
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Vivien A Sheehan
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Marcus A Carden
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Carolyn M Bennett
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - David K Wood
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Wilbur A Lam
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Fenech M, Le AV, Salame M, Gliah O, Chartrand C. Semi-automated red blood cell core detection in blood micro-flow. Microvasc Res 2023; 147:104496. [PMID: 36739962 DOI: 10.1016/j.mvr.2023.104496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
In microcirculation, red blood cells (RBCs) tend to migrate toward the centre of the vessel leaving a region of a cell depleted layer or cell-free layer (CFL) at the vessel wall and a core of RBCs at the centre. This heterogenous distribution of cells has an effect on the blood apparent viscosity and the exchanges of gases and nutrients between the RBCs and the vessel. Understanding the formation of the CFL and obtaining accurate measurement of it is paramount for furthering development of devices such as drug administration. This paper presents a general semi-automatic method to quantify the thickness of the CFL for different channel geometries and image quality. It enables the use of a method based on intensity, a method using the gradient of the intensity, or a method based on spatiotemporal variation. The main features are reported, the performance is demonstrated on experimentally obtained image sets and accuracy is validated using synthetic images with known CFL thickness. A pure automatic detection is limited by the most visually correct using the spatiotemporal method, however proposed thresholding through automatic detection allows for quality controls through manual adjustments. With a semi-automatic approach RBC core variability between 3 % to 8 % was found when the test user was tasked with repeating the analysis of the same set. The presented method provides, users without programming ability with a user-friendly interface that can extract CFL automatically with quality control through manual adjustments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Fenech
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada.
| | - Andy Vinh Le
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada; Centre de Biochimie Structurale, CNRS 5048-INSERM UMR 1054, University of Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Maya Salame
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Omemah Gliah
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Camille Chartrand
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
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Miranda I, Souza A, Sousa P, Ribeiro J, Castanheira EMS, Lima R, Minas G. Properties and Applications of PDMS for Biomedical Engineering: A Review. J Funct Biomater 2021; 13:2. [PMID: 35076525 PMCID: PMC8788510 DOI: 10.3390/jfb13010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is an elastomer with excellent optical, electrical and mechanical properties, which makes it well-suited for several engineering applications. Due to its biocompatibility, PDMS is widely used for biomedical purposes. This widespread use has also led to the massification of the soft-lithography technique, introduced for facilitating the rapid prototyping of micro and nanostructures using elastomeric materials, most notably PDMS. This technique has allowed advances in microfluidic, electronic and biomedical fields. In this review, an overview of the properties of PDMS and some of its commonly used treatments, aiming at the suitability to those fields' needs, are presented. Applications such as microchips in the biomedical field, replication of cardiovascular flow and medical implants are also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inês Miranda
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal; (I.M.); (P.S.); (G.M.)
| | - Andrews Souza
- MEtRICs, Mechanical Engineering Department, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal;
| | - Paulo Sousa
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal; (I.M.); (P.S.); (G.M.)
| | - João Ribeiro
- Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Campus de Santa Apolónia, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal;
| | - Elisabete M. S. Castanheira
- Centre of Physics of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal;
| | - Rui Lima
- MEtRICs, Mechanical Engineering Department, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal;
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Graça Minas
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal; (I.M.); (P.S.); (G.M.)
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