Tumor cell detection in tissue samples can be carried out much cheaper with the help of a computer. CWI has developed software that assists pathologists to make a diagnosis. Last week the biotechnology start-up company PodiCeps signed an agreement with CWI Incubator to use this technology in a novel cancer screening method that is currently under development. In exchange CWI Incubator receives a share in PodiCeps.
The program Argos was developed by Robert van Liere and Wim de Leeuw from the Visualisation and 3D Interfaces group (INS3). It measures characteristics of structures in cell nuclei that can be an indication of cancer, like the number of structures and their average size. Pathologists can also use Argos to present this information to facilitate diagnosis. The software works in combination with a chemical detection technique, which marks the relevant structures. This -still experimental- method was originally developed by prof.dr. R. van Driel from the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences of the University of Amsterdam.
More information can be found on INS3's website
