Cernostics, a life sciences firm specializing in advanced cancer diagnostics, will apply Germany-based health image intelligence company Definiens' image analysis technology Tissue Studio to develop new molecular diagnostic tests for the treatment of a variety of cancer types.
Definiens Tissue Studio, which relies on highly multiplexed panels of fluorescence biomarkers, enables pathologists to analyze cancers on the cellular and sub-cellular level.
Unlike some approaches that rely on single-biomarker expression, Cernostics takes a systems approach to tumor analysis, evaluating immune, stromal, stem cell and tumor biomarkers on a single slide while preserving tissue structure.
This can help clinicians better understand disease subtypes and help them choose the course of treatment most suited to each patient’s disease state.
Cernostics CEO Michael Hoerres said the collaboration with Definiens will enable Cernostics to accelerate development of its pipeline of systems biology-based diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tests.
Definiens develops software solutions for biomedical image analysis, data mining and clinical decision support.
The company’s software analyzes images from cell-based assays, whole tissue slides and full body scans and allows users to correlate this information with data derived from other sources, supporting better decisions in research, diagnostics and therapy.