LETI & CELLMIC accelerate adoption of biomedical sensing
In the above photo, Cellmic's digital imaging, lens-free microscope is ready to scan a tissue sample residing the the small petri dish that sits directly atop the CMOS image sensor. Photo courtesy of Cellmic and CEA-Leti.
Leti, a research institute at CEA Tech, and Cellmic, a company serving the healthcare industry through applications for smartphones and biophotonics, has announced that they have joined forces to accelerate the market adoption of lens-free imaging and sensing techniques by growing Leti's patent portfolio with a core patent from Cellmic.
Cellmic's key technology was pioneered by Aydogan Ozcan, UCLA's chancellor's professor, and his research group. This patented computational lens-free imaging approach reconstructs detailed images of specimens based upon their holographic shadows that contain unique 3D information; in healthcare applications samples typically include tissue sections, blood smears and cell cultures. The lens-free microscope is composed of a LED and a CMOS sensor. Recorded raw data are then reassembled with high resolution by utilizing holographic reconstruction algorithms. Cellmic, a UCLA spin-off, holds some of the core patents of this important computational imaging technique.
Cellmic and Leti stated that lens-free microscopy has emerged as a powerful imaging and sensing platform that developers believe may, by using dedicated algorithms, replace bulky and expensive optical components that are found in standard optical microscopy systems today. Leti developed a lens-free microscope in 2012. Today the technology offers an ultra-wide field-of-view, tracking more than 10,000 biological, microscopic objects at a time per image, providing lab techs with a cost-effective, highly compact and robust solution. The Cellmic patent complements Leti's IP portfolio and accelerates its ongoing valorization of its lens-free technology for diagnostics, biomedical sensing and related applications.
"Lens-free, on-chip imaging offers a very unique opportunity to bring advanced microscopy and sensing tools into your pocket with a fraction of the cost of existing technologies," said Ozcan, who is also a co-founder of Cellmic. "We are proud to have made fundamental contributions to establish this technique, which has been benefiting researchers in both academia and industry at a global scale."
"Our partnership with Leti will help this powerful imaging and sensing technology to reach different markets through Leti's powerful collaborations with other companies in various industries," added Neven Karlovac, the CEO and co-founder of Cellmic.
"Ozcan's research lab and Cellmic have done ground-breaking work in developing lens-free imaging techniques," said Jean-Marc Dinten, Leti Imaging department manager and international expert. "This core patent complements our lens-free technology development, such as point-of-care diagnosis for spinal meningitis."
