How Live Cell Analysis Technology is Meeting the Needs of Ever Evolving Advanced Cell Models

In this podcast and accompanying article, we interviewed Dr. Kimberly Wicklund, Head of Product Management for the IncuCyte at Sartorius about how live cell analysis is meeting the needs of advanced cell models and how the launch of the new IncuCyte SX1 is providing scientists more options when it comes to using live cell analysis in their workflows.


Show Notes


We began the podcast by discussing how cell modeling and cell systems have evolved significantly. I asked Dr. Wicklund if she could explain for listeners how cell monitoring has advanced to meet these needs. She described how researchers are looking for physiological relevance in their cell models and cell systems and are making a shift from simple, recombinant cell systems, and moving towards primary cells or stem-cell derived cells that are often human and patient-specific. Co-cultures, multi-cultures and tissue organoid models offer significant promise, but also present challenges to the typical cell workflows, which puts huge pressure on instrumentation to keep up. She went on to stress the importance of taking cell health into account first and foremost in instrumentation, but also to consider the end users as well to ensure that their work can be done efficiently and that their cells are being used efficiently as well.


Next I asked Kim if she could explain live cell analysis and how is it different from endpoint workflows like flow cytometry. She explained that live cell analysis centers on the dimension of time and it centers on repeated measurements of the same populations of cells. She then provided a great analogy, she said “If you think about your favorite sport, do you want to see the score half-way through and nothing else, or do you want to watch how it evolved? If you only see the score at a point in time, how do you know who won, and how do you feel about the next game? You would have no idea what’s to come.”


We then discussed why live cell analysis a good fit for advanced cell systems like primary cells and stem cell derived cells. Kim continued with her sports analogy by explaining, “if you’re watching a game, you want to know what team started strong and then lost their edge, what players really shined, that can change in an instant. So think of your cell models as your favorite team, full of different personalities that can be considered unpredictable until you watch them long enough and really dig in and put them in an environment that doesn’t change and then and only can you begin to predict.”


Next I asked Kim if she could get a bit more specific and describe the IncuCyte live-cell analysis technology and why is it a good fit for these more advanced cell models. She explained that it starts with being an advocate for the cells and the scientists. She went on to say that with the IncuCyte, cells are put in a precise and robust environment, a standard tissue culture incubator. Cells are then left in one spot and the IncuCyte’s mobile optical system travels to the cells and captures images repeatedly, over time. For the scientists, the IncuCyte is as simple and as automated as possible from placing the cells into the IncuCyte until the time when you are getting results. She said that during product development, we have our team of biologists that are sitting right alongside the engineers saying, “I need this to be fewer clicks” or “I need this to suit my workflow” or “I don’t want to figure that out, that’s more technology than biology.” And that’s the rule, if it gets too complicated, then we’re wasting cells and we’re wasting scientists’ time. And we don’t like to do that!


We then talked about an exciting announcement that Sartorius is making at ISSCR this week.