TUCSON, Ariz.—DMetrixInc., the developer of ultra-rapid, array-microscope digital imaging systems,announced that it has formed a partnership with Definiens AG, based in Munich, Germany. Their goal is toaccelerate the development of a system that will provide completely automateddigital pathology. The partners will jointly develop connectors for the newsolution, which will enable drug discovery customers to benefit from thecomplete image capture-to-analysis process. The solution includes the DMetrixaward-winning DX-40 array-microscope whole-slide scanner that captures imagesof slides in less than one minute, as well as the Definiens Enterprise ImageIntelligence suite of products.
While the pharmaceutical industry worldwide struggles with a shortage of pathologists, thevolume of diagnostic testing for new drug development has expanded. Thisexpanded workload has increased the need for innovations that improveproductivity and testing accuracy.
"The DMetrix and Definiens partnership provides thefar-reaching results that the industry requires," states Rodger Brown, vicepresident of sales and marketing at DMetrix. "—a high-throughput, quantitativeand objective tool for preclinical research to help speed the developmentprocess for new therapeutics.
"The partnership with Definiens allows us to provide acomprehensive solution to customers wanting to take advantage of the conversionof raw digital pathological data into usable, well-defined scientificinformation," Brown adds. "By combining the leading enterprise imageintelligence platform and DMetrix's whole slide image capture instrument, weare providing an innovative system that will enhance and expedite the waypreclinical studies are performed.
"Our array-microscope has the ability to capture images muchfaster – typically less than a minute for a standard slide but only 155 secondsfor a whole slide. Other systems require 5 to 50 times longer," Brown notes."The difference in our equipment is the ultra-rapid array lens, which is asingle lens with 80 objectives. Others have to scan a slide in tiles or stripsand stitch the tiles or strips together while we do the whole slide in a singlepass. The DMetrix system is also the first and only multi-spectral system toproduce whole slide images in up to 12 colors to provide efficient incrementalanalysis of multiple proteins on one slide."
The DX-40 also features topographic focus that uses aprescan to identify the topography of the tissue, and then has the ability toroll and pitch—much like an aircraft—based on the topography as it captures theimage, utilizing hundreds of focal points for enhanced image quality.
Definiens' patented Cognition Network technology wasdeveloped by Nobel Laureate, Dr. Gerd Binnig, and serves as the base of theDefiniens eCognition platform. The platform is designed to fulfill imageanalysis demands on every scale, from microscopic cell structures to satelliteimages.
"The partnership with DMetrix brings enormous value to ourexisting and future customers in the pharmaceutical industry by increasingtheir insight into images," says Rene Hermes, Definiens' vice president ofmarketing.
