Apparatus, method, and system for automated, non-invasive cell activity tracking
AssigneeProgyny, Inc.
InventorsFarshid Moussavi, Yu Wang, Peter Lorenzen, Stephen Gould
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatuses, methods, and systems for automated, non-invasive evaluation of cell activity are provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a hypothesis selection module configured to select a hypothesis from a plurality of hypotheses characterizing one or more cells shown in an image. Each of the plurality of hypotheses includes an inferred characteristic of the one or more cells based on geometric features of the one or more cells shown in the image. The hypothesis selection module is implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device.
Claims19
A method for automated, non-invasive evaluation of cell activity in human embryos, oocytes, or pluripotent cells to determine a developmental potential with an imaging system, the method comprising:
- acquiring a series of time-sequential images of the cells in a multi-well culture dish with a camera of at least one time-lapse microscope of the imaging system;
- selecting an image from the series of time-sequential images, wherein the selected image is preceded by a previous image in the series of time-sequential images of the cells;
- extracting observable geometric information of the cells from the selected image;
- generating a plurality of first hypotheses characterizing the cells as shown in the image, wherein generating the plurality of first hypotheses comprises:
- determining an inferred characteristic of one or more of the cells based on a mapping of a representation of each of the one or more of the cells to the observable geometric information associated with the cells;
- retrieving a plurality of parent hypotheses associated with the previous image in the series of time-sequential images of the cells;
- generating a plurality of preliminary hypotheses based on the plurality of parent hypotheses;
- and
- generating the plurality of first hypotheses based on the plurality of preliminary hypotheses and based on the observable geometric information of the cells from the selected image;
- selecting a first hypothesis from the plurality of first hypotheses associated with the image;
- and
- determining a characteristic of the one or more of the cells based on the inferred characteristic associated with the first hypothesis to determine an indicator of developmental potential for the cells.
An automated imaging system for evaluation of human embryos, oocytes, or pluripotent cells to determine a developmental potential, the system comprising:
- a stage configured to receive a multi-well culture dish, wherein the multi-well culture dish comprises a plurality of micro-wells containing a plurality of human embryo cells or pluripotent cells;
- and
- a time-lapse microscope having at least a camera, wherein the camera is configured to acquire a series of time-sequential images of the multi-well culture dish on the stage, and wherein the time-lapse microscope is configured to determine an indicator of developmental potential of at least some of the cells, wherein determining the indicator of development competence comprises:
- selecting an image from the series of time-sequential images, wherein the selected image is preceded by a previous image in the series of time-sequential images of the cells;
- extracting observable geometric information of the cells from the selected image;
- generating a plurality of first hypotheses characterizing the cells as shown in the image, wherein generating the plurality of first hypotheses comprises:
- determining an inferred characteristic of one or more of the cells based on a mapping of a representation of each of the one or more of the cells to the observable geometric information associated with the cells;
- retrieving a plurality of parent hypotheses associated with the previous image in the series of time-sequential images of the cells;
- generating a plurality of preliminary hypotheses based on the plurality of parent hypotheses;
- and
- generating the plurality of first hypotheses based on the plurality of preliminary hypotheses and based on the observable geometric information of the cells from the selected image;
- selecting a first hypothesis from the plurality of first hypotheses associated with the image;
- and
- determining a characteristic of the one or more of the cells based on the inferred characteristic associated with the first hypothesis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.