ImageIQ will use its extensive cell biology, image analysis and software engineering expertise to develop automated quantitative image analysis software which will be coupled with a cell culture imaging technology and initially deployed at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center. The project includes ImageIQ developing an innovative imaging and image analysis technology for assaying the quality of umbilical cord blood units prior to cryopreservation and subsequent therapeutic application. The project is a collaborative effort among the NCRM, the Clinical Tissue Engineering Center (CTEC), CCBC and ImageIQ.
In addition to oversight, the Ohio Third Frontier Program will provide the necessary funding to execute the project over the course of three years. The Ohio Third Frontier is also a direct source of funding for both CTEC and NCRM. NCRM will provide administrative support for all of the program collaborators.
“This project highlights the depth and diversity of expertise in stem cell biology and cell therapy that is available in Cleveland, and the rich collaborative environment that we have established in Northeast Ohio,” said George Muschler, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon, Director of CTEC and the Principal Investigator for Cleveland Clinic. “The complex nature of our stem cell research and technology development programs necessitates a custom, application-specific approach to characterizing stem cells using image analysis and visualization. Pairing our stem cell biology expertise with ImageIQ’s experience in utilizing custom imaging and image analysis to improve stem cell research will enable our team to develop a truly valuable technology.”
CTEC, NCRM and CCBC will leverage more than a decade of cell-based life science research experience that the ImageIQ team garnered during its tenure within Cleveland Clinic, where it functioned as the Biomedical Imaging and Analysis Core.
“We are enthused to have been chosen by the CTEC and CCBC to support such a unique technology development program”, said Dr. Amit Vasanji, Chief Technology Officer at ImageIQ. “Our unique combination of stem cell imaging, image analysis, and software engineering expertise, and our ability to accelerate R&D and product development timelines will significantly enhance the work associated with this important collaboration.”
The use of umbilical cord blood stem cells as a starting material for stem cell research and therapies has steadily increased over the past decade. “As the Cleveland Cord Blood Center continues to expand its collection region and as cord blood emerges as a go-to source of material for stem cell transplantations and other therapeutic applications, the need for reliable quantitative quality assessments prior to banking a cord blood unit will be monumental to keeping costs low enough to enable the proliferation and long-term sustainability of the cord blood banking model,” said Mary Laughlin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia, and Founder and Medical Director of CCBC. “I’m pleased to have the opportunity to work with ImageIQ and I look forward to the fruits of this collaborative effort.”
About ImageIQ
ImageIQ is an Imaging Contract Research Organization (ICRO) that combines software engineering with biomedical and imaging expertise to provide quantitative visual analysis that enhances R&D and product efficacy/safety testing for research, medical device and pharmaceutical organizations. Incubated within Cleveland Clinic for the better part of a decade, ImageIQ provides customized image analytics and reporting, delivering objective quantitative evidence that speeds time to discovery and market entry, reduces internal overhead and improves grant proposal attractiveness and fundability. By advancing the speed of research, ImageIQ customers can extend their expertise and abilities and complete work quickly, allowing innovative staff members to focus on creative solutions to research. www.Image-IQ.com
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