Device, system and process for robotic radiobiology

A high throughput radiobiology assay platform for plating cell cultures and triggering cell therapy using computed treatment protocols, the platform comprising:

• a hardware processor having a communication interface to an imaging system for continuously receiving temporal images of growth of cells at intervals over a time period before and after a therapy, wherein the hardware processor connects to a cell loading device that loads various concentrations of the cells based on a therapeutic protocol for cell density and therapy delivery, the therapeutic protocol comprising a pattern of cell seeding and therapy doses for delivery to said cells, wherein the hardware processor connects to a therapy system for delivering the therapy by application of different doses to different cells or groups of said cells based on the therapeutic protocol for the cell density and the therapy delivery, wherein the hardware processor couples the therapy system to a radiation delivery device for delivering radiation therapy to said cells as part of the therapy;
• a non-transitory memory for storing data structures for the images and colony formation behavior of individual cells in the images;
• wherein the hardware processor is configured to automatically process the temporal images to detect relations between individual cells in the images to track the colony formation behavior of the individual cells in the images from said growth of the cells at the intervals over the time period and compute a likelihood of survival of the individual cells after the therapy to a specific dose as the temporal images are received over the time period, wherein the hardware processor identifies and classifies the individual cells and colonies based on their initial multiplicity, wherein the hardware processor is configured to automatically process the temporal images by:
• filtering or removing background from the temporal images;
• detecting or locating cell centroids in the filtered temporal images;
• grouping the cell centroids and corresponding cells based on a distance criterion between the cell centroids to find and detect group centroids;
• and
• writing output data for generating the therapeutic protocol to the non-transitory memory by updating the data structures in the non-transitory memory with group identifiers, the group centroids, and a group population;
• and
• the hardware processor is configured to generate the therapeutic protocol, wherein the hardware processor is configured to trigger loading of said cells and delivery of the therapy to said cells based on the therapeutic protocol, wherein the hardware processor generates the therapeutic protocol to configure and control the cell loading device for loading said cells and the therapy system for delivering therapy, wherein the hardware processor triggers the therapy system and the radiation delivery device to execute the therapeutic protocol to deliver radiation therapy and/or drug therapy in a controlled microenvironment;
• wherein the hardware processor continuously monitors the temporal images of the growth of the cells at the intervals over the time period before and after the therapy, wherein the hardware processor is configured to process the temporal images generated after delivery of the therapy to measure sensitivity of said cells to the therapy and/or the radiation therapy using fixation and staining, wherein the hardware processor stores the measured sensitivity to the therapy and/or the radiation therapy in the data structures of the non-transitory memory;
• wherein the hardware processor refines and updates the therapeutic protocol based on the measured sensitivity to the therapy and/or the radiation therapy stored in the data structures of the non-transitory memory;
• wherein the hardware processor is configured to process the data structures stored in the non-transitory memory to update or develop the therapeutic protocol for the cell density and the therapy delivery, wherein the hardware processor computes the therapeutic protocol based on the colony formation behavior, a model of cell survival from the likelihood of survival of the individual cells, and a number of cells required for observation by the hardware processor using the temporal images to compute the therapeutic protocol with the pattern of the cell seeding plan and the therapy doses to achieve acceptable statistical uncertainty within a statistical target for the model of cell survival.