Products / DNA Ploidy
DNA Ploidy
The Ploidy Work Station (PWS): automated, image-based DNA ploidy analysis giving diagnostic and prognostic information for cancer.
- Automatic high-resolution scanning of monolayers
- Supports scanning of multiple slides
- Automatic microscope control: navigation, focusing and image capture
- Saves high-quality TIF images and .nuc files
- Automatic segmentation and classification
DNA ploidy is becoming an accepted prognostic marker. The test alone can provide prognostic information to guide treatment decisions in prostatic, urinary bladder, ovarian, endometrial and renal cell carcinoma, among others. It can also be used as an additive prognostic marker.
DNA ploidy offers a cost-effective, objective way to assess progression, make treatment decisions and stratify patient groups. The system uses a research microscope, a digital camera and a PC.
Why prognostic markers matter
The main challenge for any oncologist is predicting the outcome of a chosen treatment for a cancer patient. Five-year survival for treated patients is estimated from clinical staging, ranging from 60–95% at stage I to 0–15% at stage IV. With few exceptions, there is no way to predict whether an individual patient belongs to the surviving (good prognosis) or non-surviving group.
A good prognostic marker lets the oncologist choose the optimal treatment, or no treatment, for each patient: curing the patient with fewer long-term complications and side effects, or improving quality of life for those who cannot be cured. It can also reduce the overall cost of treatment.
How the PWS works
The system has two parts: PWS Grabber for microscope control and image capture, and PWS Classifier for analysis of the samples.
PWS Grabber
An application for automatic microscope scanning of monolayers. PWS Grabber focuses, captures and segments cancer nuclei stained with the Feulgen-Schiff method. The absorbed stain is proportional to the DNA content of each nucleus.
- Specify the slides and case ID.
- Adjust focus for slide 1, set the background position to an area without objects and adjust the light intensity. Adjust focus for slides in positions 2–4 with the slider.
- Controlled setup: after logging in, tools and settings can be changed.
- The options panel sets scan specifications, the microscope, camera and stage, the cell classification rules and the positions to scan, and corrects for optical effects such as dark current and glare.
Cell classification uses a rule set built from the results of manual editing. Different rules apply to different cell types, and to monolayers and sections. The rule set means only correctly segmented cells are stored, sorted into galleries of different cell types.
PWS Classifier
PWS Classifier handles the images of the objects captured and segmented by PWS Grabber. It supports manual editing (sorting of objects), displays DNA ploidy histograms, and calculates statistics for selected objects. It then enables manual and automatic DNA ploidy classification for use in the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients.
The whole process can also run automatically. During setup you can correct for glare, dark current and diffraction.
System hardware
The system is based on a research microscope and a high-quality digital camera. It includes the software and hardware to capture images from the monolayer and produce a histogram of the DNA content of the cell nuclei, so that a DNA ploidy classification can be made.
The Room4 DNA Ploidy system is intended for research use only.