WO2005047896A2 - Analyse automatique d’echantillons cellulaires - Google Patents
Analyse automatique d’echantillons cellulaires Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2005047896A2 WO2005047896A2 PCT/FR2004/002854 FR2004002854W WO2005047896A2 WO 2005047896 A2 WO2005047896 A2 WO 2005047896A2 FR 2004002854 W FR2004002854 W FR 2004002854W WO 2005047896 A2 WO2005047896 A2 WO 2005047896A2
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- image
- sample
- cell
- analysis
- cells
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5008—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics
- G01N33/5014—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics for testing toxicity
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5008—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5008—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics
- G01N33/5011—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics for testing antineoplastic activity
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5008—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics
- G01N33/502—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics for testing non-proliferative effects
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5091—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing the pathological state of an organism
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/53—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor
- G01N33/569—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor for microorganisms, e.g. protozoa, bacteria, viruses
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/53—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor
- G01N33/569—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor for microorganisms, e.g. protozoa, bacteria, viruses
- G01N33/56983—Viruses
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/68—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving proteins, peptides or amino acids
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/68—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving proteins, peptides or amino acids
- G01N33/6893—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving proteins, peptides or amino acids related to diseases not provided for elsewhere
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method for analyzing a cell sample.
- the invention also relates to a method for analyzing a digital image of a cell sample capable of being implemented by software.
- the invention also relates to a device for analyzing cellular samples.
- the industrial and cognitive applications of cells in culture are always increasing. Without being exhaustive, the following applications can be cited: - cells for the production of recombinant proteins, - cells for screening pharmacological molecules, - cells for diagnostic tests, - cells for constructing predictive toxicology, - cells for cell therapy of repair of reconstruction and regeneration. Many factors still make it difficult to fully exploit the potential of cells in culture.
- Said cell samples may be either tissue samples from a biopsy, or primary cell cultures or cultures of cell lines and are not limited to a particular source.
- the invention aims to contribute to satisfying this need and aims in particular to at least partially automate this analysis while allowing a simple procedure that is economical in terms of time and resources.
- the present invention provides a method of analyzing a cell sample, comprising the steps of: a) staining the nuclei of the cells of the sample; b) acquisition of at least one digital image of the sample; c) digital analysis of said image.
- the method comprises one or more of the following characteristics: - step a) of staining comprises cytochemical staining - step a) of staining comprises the use of an immunoenzymatic technique with at least one antibodies; - step a) of staining comprises the use of an immunoperoxidase technique with at least one antibody; - Step a) of coloring the nuclei of the cells is a non-DNA specific coloring; - between steps b) and c), the method comprises a step of decomposing the image according to a given color; - the image decomposition step is done according to either the color of the coloring, or according to the color complementary to the coloring; - the decomposition step is done according to one of the primary colors of the normalized colorimetric space Nrgb; - the coloring is magenta, the decomposition step being carried out according to the green component of the standardized colorimetric space; - prior to step c), the process comprises a step of binarizing the pixels of the image to bring out
- the invention also proposes a method for analyzing a digital image of a cell sample capable of being implemented by software, each pixel of the image being defined by a level of intensity d '' at least one color component or black and white among a number of possible intensity levels greater than two, the method comprising the steps of: - binarization of the pixels of the image to bring out the nuclei of the cells on a background; and - analysis of the binarized image.
- the method comprises one or more of the following characteristics: - each pixel of the digital image is defined by an intensity level of three components of different color, the method comprising prior to the binarization step a step of decomposing the image according to a given color associating with each pixel of the image a level of intensity among a number of possible levels greater than 2; - the decomposition is done according to one of the primary colors of the normalized colorimetric space Nrgb; - the decomposition step is carried out according to the green component of the standardized colorimetric space; - the binarization step is carried out by applying the Ridler algorithm to the image decomposed according to a given color; the method comprises, prior to the analysis step, a step of eliminating from the binarized image at least one object having a number of pixels less than a first predetermined threshold; the method comprises, prior to the analysis step, a step of dividing, in the binarized image, of at least one object having a number of pixels greater than a second predetermined threshold, into
- the invention provides a device for analyzing cellular samples, comprising: - a plate for receiving a multiwell box of samples to be analyzed; - a microscope; a digital camera associated with the microscope, the camera providing images in the form of pixels, each pixel being defined by an intensity level of at least one color or black and white component from a number of higher possible intensity levels together ; - a system for moving the box placed in the stage relative to the microscope; a computer controlling the movement system and the camera and receiving digital images supplied by the camera, the computer further comprising software implementing the method of analysis of a digital image of a cell sample according to the previously described invention.
- the computer is programmed to acquire a given number of images for at least one well of the box placed in the stage by command of the movement system and of the camera, and to analyze said images by application. said software.
- the invention also provides a method for selecting a culture medium, characterized in that it comprises the stages of culture of several cell samples each in a different culture medium and then an analysis as previously described.
- the invention proposes, according to another aspect, a method for measuring the toxicity of a substance, characterized in that it comprises the steps of culturing a cell sample in the presence of the substance and then an analysis as previously described.
- the invention also provides a method for measuring the cytopathological characteristics of a virus characterized in that it comprises the steps of culturing a cell sample in the presence of the virus and then an analysis as previously described.
- the invention also provides a process for the selection of pharmacological substances involved in diseases of overweight or obesity, characterized in that it comprises the stages of cell culture in the presence of the substances to be tested, the coloring of intracellular fatty acids, then the acquisition of at least one digital image of the sample and the digital analysis of said image.
- the invention finally provides a method for selecting pharmacological substances involved in osteoporosis, characterized in that it comprises the steps of culturing cells in the presence of the substances to be tested, staining the cells, then acquiring at least a digital image of the sample and the digital analysis of said image.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a multiwell box for cell sample used with the device according to the invention of FIG. 2.
- FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the hardware part of a device according to the invention.
- FIG. 3 illustrates an example image according to the green component of the normalized RGB space of a cell sample colored in magenta.
- FIG. 4 represents the distribution of the pixels of an image according to their intensity.
- Figures 5a and 5b illustrate the images obtained from the image of Figure 3 after binarization and selection of small objects in the first and large in the second.
- FIG. 6 illustrates the image of the germs obtained after erosion of the objects of the image of FIG. 5b.
- FIG. 7 illustrates the result of region growth from the seeds of Figure 6, also showing the original objects of Figure 5b.
- FIG. 8 illustrates the final image obtained by combining the images of FIGS. 5a and 5b after splitting the contiguous nuclei.
- FIG. 9 illustrates the results of a toxicity test carried out according to a method claimed by the invention.
- FIG. 10 illustrates the results of a lipid density measurement carried out according to a method claimed by the invention.
- FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the hardware part of a device according to the invention. It includes a computer (not shown), a microscope 2 coupled to a camera 3, a lighting system 4 and a stage 5 for receiving a multi-well box 1 containing cell samples to be analyzed.
- the multiwell box 1 can be of a type known per se.
- the wells of a box 1 all have the same section.
- An example of a multiwell box 1 having 12 wells is illustrated in FIG. 1.
- the wells are, in this case, regularly arranged in four columns, each having three wells.
- it may be a multi-well box 1 having 96 wells in which case the wells have a lower section and are regularly arranged in 12 columns each having 8 wells.
- Each well is designed to receive a cell sample to be analyzed.
- the microscope 2 can be an optical microscope known per se.
- the device comprises a motorization making it possible to position the objective 2a of the microscope 2 in front of any of the wells of the dish and therefore to observe the sample contained in the corresponding well.
- microscope 2 is fixed horizontally and its observation axis is vertical - z axis - while the stage 5 is motorized to move the box 1 in a horizontal plane xy in front of the objective 2a of the microscope 2.
- the device also includes a motorization enabling the focal point of microscope 2 on the sample in the selected well.
- the plate 5 is fixed vertically while the objective 2a is motorized to be moved vertically along the axis z.
- the microscope 2 is preferably of the inverted type.
- the objective 2a of the microscope 2 is placed under the box 1 and observes the sample contained in the well placed in front of its objective 2a through the bottom of the box 1.
- the box 1 is made of a material transparent which can advantageously be a plastic material.
- the use of an inverted type microscope 2 makes it possible to comply with the focal distance for focusing the microscope on the sample contained in the well. On the contrary, in the case of observation from above the box, compliance with the focal distance may require the penetration of the objective 2a of the microscope 2 into the well, which is generally excluded because of the size of objective 2a.
- the camera 3 makes it possible to acquire in digital form the image of the sample provided by the microscope 2.
- the camera 3 supplies the digital image to the computer via any suitable link 3a.
- the camera 3 is preferably of the color type coding for each pixel three primary colors on a certain number of intensity levels, preferably at least 16 levels for each component so that the nuclei of the cells are sufficiently distinguished from the background and from the cytoplasm.
- the camera 3 can advantageously be of the CCD or tri-CCD type providing a digital color image, for example of the conventional type providing the R, G and B components of each pixel with the intensity of the component coded on 256 levels, and therefore making it possible to code 256 colors.
- the lighting system 4 illuminates the well of the box 1 located in front of the objective 2a of the microscope 2. In this case, the lighting is carried out from above the box 1. In other words, the microscope 2 observes the samples contained in box 1 in transmitted light.
- the lighting system 4 can advantageously comprise filters making it possible to select a given type of light as a function of the nature of the sample to be analyzed.
- the intensity of the lighting can be adjustable to select a given intensity according to the nature of the sample to be analyzed.
- the exposure time and the aperture of the camera 3 to acquire an image supplied by the microscope 2 can also be variable and selected according to the nature of the sample to be analyzed.
- the computer can control all of the elements described using suitable control software.
- the computer can control the movement of the stage 5, the focal focus and the magnification of the microscope 2 and the camera 3.
- the computer controls the triggering of the shooting as well as the settings exposure time and diaphragm.
- the adjustment of the lighting system 4 is possibly manual, since the lighting intensity and the selected filter (s) are generally the same for all the wells of the same box 1 and therefore do not require intervention during successive analysis of all the wells in the box.
- the lighting system 4 can advantageously be controlled by the computer, which allows more complete automation and avoids possible manual adjustment errors concerning the light intensity or the selected filter or filters.
- the following commercially available equipment can be used: - microscope 2: Nikon TE 2000-E with an xy motorized stage 5 of the PRIO type; - 3 CCD camera: Nikon DMX 1200.
- the computer can be of a conventional type such as a PC compatible with the input / output interfaces required to control the device and receive digital images from camera 3. Conventionally, it also includes user interfaces such as a keyboard and display screen.
- the software for controlling the microscope 2, the camera 3, the lighting system 4 and the stage 5 can be the LUCIA-G software from the company Laboratory Imaging (Czech Republic).
- the fixing of the cells also makes it possible to freeze their distribution in the sample for the sake of reliability of the analysis. in the case where distinct zones of the sample are observed successively under a microscope 2.
- the cells are colored to reveal the naturally translucent nuclei.
- colorings it is advantageous to use cytochemical staining in particular after having resorted to an alcoholic fixation. Cytochemistry dyes have the advantage of simplicity of implementation, robustness, a good signal to noise ratio and very good conservation.
- the analyzes can be done simply in white light.
- alcoholic fixation it is advantageous because it constitutes a form of rapid fixation, which does not interfere with the coloring techniques.
- nuclei allows the device of the invention to acquire images of the sample and automatically process these to determine for example the number of nuclei in the sample, their morphology and characterize their distribution. Consequently, it also makes it possible to quantify the number of cells in the sample from the number of nuclei observed.
- the majority of mammalian cells have only one nucleus.
- several wells from box 1 can contain samples cultivated under identical conditions. Thus, account may be taken of the variations intrinsic to the biological and experimental systems between samples of the same condition. This allows in particular to average the analyzes made on these wells and therefore to have a more reliable result. Simply put, it can be agreed that each well column in box 1 is dedicated to the same culture condition.
- the number of wells containing samples of the same condition in other words, the number of wells actually used in each column in our example - can be chosen according to the admissible error rate for the analysis result, this rate decreasing with increasing number of wells with the same culture condition.
- control and analysis software controls the hardware part of the device by means of the aforementioned control software and performs the analysis of the digital images supplied by the camera 3.
- an operator places in the plate 5 a multi-well box 1 containing cell samples to be analyzed in his wells.
- the computer requests the operator to indicate the type of cell samples to be analyzed. This can be done by operator choice in a predefined catalog of types proposed by the computer. The type of sample takes into account both the type of cells to be analyzed and the type of histological stains applied to them.
- the computer requests the operator to indicate the type of box 1 placed in the platinum 5.
- automatic recognition of the type of box 1 can be provided by the device, for example using a color mark specific to the type of box and placed at a predetermined location thereof.
- the computer controls the stage 5 to observe the mark under a microscope 2 and provide the corresponding digital image to the computer by means of the camera 3.
- the computer determines the type of box 1 concerned. As indicated, it can be provided that the dish 1 has, for each culture condition, a given number of wells presenting samples of this culture condition. This number can be left to the operator's choice to allow him to select the acceptable analysis error rate. In this case, the computer requests the operator to indicate this number to him.
- the topology for distributing samples of the same condition in the wells of box 1 is preferably predefined to avoid the operator having to supply it to the computer.
- the computer adjusts the lighting of the lighting system 4 according to the type of cellular samples previously selected by the operator. Otherwise, it is the operator who adjusts the lighting system 4 if it is not controlled by the computer. In this case, the computer can optionally indicate the settings to be made.
- the lighting system 4 does not include selectable filters and / or intensity adjustment. In particular, it can be provided that the lighting is always the same regardless of the type of sample concerned, for example white light.
- the computer acquires images of the samples to be analyzed. For this, it successively places the wells of the box 1 containing the samples in front of the objective 2a of the microscope 2 by controlling the stage 5. For each well, the computer takes a predetermined number N of distinct images of the sample by camera 3, each time shifting the well in front of the lens
- the computer controls the focal point of the microscope 2. It also adjusts the diaphragm and the exposure time of the camera 3 as well as the magnification of microscope 2, these settings can be dependent on the type of sample selected.
- These digital images are transmitted to the computer as they are acquired.
- the computer receives the values of the R, G and B components for each pixel of an image, the intensity of each being coded on 8 bits and therefore providing 256 intensity levels for each component.
- the computer preferably stores these images on its hard drive.
- the N images are preferably written inside the well in order to prevent the images from comprising parts outside the well. Otherwise, the analysis of the images would require additional processing to distinguish the interior of the well from the exterior.
- the N images can be taken at predetermined positions of the sample or at random positions.
- each image covers an area of the sample which is specific to it and which does not cover all or part of other images so as to avoid redundancy which would reduce the representativeness of the images acquired in relation to the whole of the sample.
- the computer breaks down each color image into an image according to a given unique color which provides good distinction between the objects to be analyzed - the nuclei - and the background of the image.
- the unique color in which each image is broken down depends on the type of sample to be analyzed, and more particularly on the histological staining performed.
- the decomposition of the image can be done either according to the color of the histological coloring, or according to the color complementary thereto.
- the computer it is advantageous for the computer to decompose each color image into an image according to the green component of the normalized RGB space (conventionally noted Nrgb).
- Nrgb the normalized RGB space
- the normalized RGB space provides better discrimination compared to the R, G, B components provided by the camera because the normalized space is less sensitive to variations in brightness.
- FIG. 3 illustrates an example image according to the green component of the normalized RGB space of a cell sample colored in magenta. The lower the intensity level, the more the representation of the pixel is dark. Thus, the pixels of the cores have a significantly lower intensity level compared to the background pixels which have a high intensity level.
- the computer instead of decomposing each image according to a component of another color space, the computer can retain each image according to one of the components R, G, B supplied by the camera 3, for example the image according to the component V in the case of a cytochemistry staining in magenta, although the distinctiveness is less.
- the camera 3 provides black and white images instead of being in color in which case this fourth step is omitted.
- the computer provides a binarized version of each image from the fourth step, discriminating between the nuclei and the background.
- an intensity threshold is defined to discriminate the pixels considered to belong to the nuclei of the pixels considered to belong to the background.
- the computer compares the intensity of each pixel in the image from the fourth step with this threshold and assigns it a first value - 0 - or a second value - 1 - depending on the result of the comparison.
- the value '1' corresponds to the pixels of nuclei and '0' to the rest.
- the computer determines this threshold each time rather than to apply a predetermined fixed value of this threshold for a given type of staining of cytochemistry, given the variability of staining of the nuclei. In other words, it is preferable that the computer determines this threshold specifically for each image.
- the computer can implement any suitable technique known per se to automatically determine such a threshold. The technique applied by the computer may depend on the type of sample.
- the computer can in particular apply to the image resulting from the fourth step an algorithm implementing the iterative method of Ridler which is known per se. This algorithm gives an excellent result in the case of a histogram of bi-modal distribution of pixels according to their intensity.
- the distribution is bi-modal in the case where only the nuclei of the cells are stained by histological staining.
- FIG. 4 represents such a histogram for the image of the cell sample in FIG. 3.
- the abscissa axis represents the light intensity coded in 256 levels and the ordinate axis the number of pixels.
- the distribution is tri-modal. This may be the case when the cytoplasm of the cells is also colored, but to a lesser degree than the nuclei, during histological staining.
- the threshold can be determined by two successive applications of the Ridler algorithm. The first application provides the threshold for discriminating the background from the rest: nucleus and cytoplasm in our example.
- a second application of the algorithm to the part of the histogram comprising only the remainder, that is to say the part of histogram limited to this threshold makes it possible to provide a second threshold making it possible to discriminate the nuclei from all the rest: both the background and the cytoplasm in our example.
- the fact that the computer can apply the Ridler algorithm once or twice may depend on the type of samples. But it is preferable that the computer determines itself - in a manner known per se - whether an image has a bi-modal or tri-modal distribution in order to apply either once or twice the Ridler algorithm. As mentioned, it is preferable that the computer determines this threshold for each image.
- the computer determines this threshold for a single image of a well and also uses it for the other images of this well, or even for the images of the other wells having samples of the same condition, or even ultimately for all the images relating to the wells of the same box 1. It is preferable that, in a sixth step, the computer eliminates small objects from the binarized image because they do not correspond to nuclei , but to artifacts. For this, the computer can simply count the number of pixels of each object and eliminate it in the case where this number is less than a predetermined number experimentally, for example 50 pixels for a 150-fold magnification of the microscope 2. This predetermined number is advantageously a function of the type of cell samples. In our example, eliminating an object consists in placing the pixel value of the object at 'O'.
- the computer can advantageously carry out processing on the image to distinguish possible contiguous nuclei from large nuclei.
- the computer can create two separate images from the binarized image resulting from the sixth step.
- the computer retains in the first image all the objects of the binarized image each corresponding to an isolated nucleus due to the small size of the object.
- the computer retains in the second image the larger objects which can in fact correspond either to a large isolated nucleus, or to several nuclei joined together.
- the computer places in the first image only the objects having a size smaller than a predetermined value, for example 450 pixels for a magnification of 150 times of the microscope 2, and it places in the second image the other objects.
- FIGS. 5a and 5b respectively illustrate the first image and the second image obtained in the case of the sample image of FIG. 3.
- the computer then processes the second image to divide the objects corresponding to several nuclei. Such an object is divided into as many parts as there are nuclei it represents.
- the computer can advantageously implement the method known per se called the watershed (or "watershed" in English). For this, from a copy of the second image, the computer performs ultimate erosion of each object to provide its germ (s). Each germ corresponds to a cell nucleus.
- FIG. 6 illustrates the image of the germs obtained after erosion of the objects of the image of FIG. 5b.
- the computer then proceeds to region growth from the germs, the growth being stopped when two regions meet.
- Figure 7 illustrates the result of the region growth by showing the initial objects of Figure 5b.
- the borders between regions are then used to segment the objects of the second image.
- the computer places the border pixels at the background value in the second image; in our example, it assigns the value '0' to these pixels. Consequently, the objects are divided accordingly into as many parts as there are seeds obtained by ultimate erosion.
- the second image after splitting the nuclei if necessary is combined with the first image which contains the objects of small sizes deemed to each correspond to an isolated nucleus.
- FIG. 8 illustrates the resulting image obtained for the sample image of FIG. 3 with the arrows referenced 'S' which point to some segmentations resulting from the seventh step.
- the computer proceeds to the analysis of the objects contained in the image resulting from the seventh step by image analysis techniques known per se. In particular, it counts the number of objects contained in the image, which provides the number of nuclei contained in the sample since each object corresponds to a nucleus.
- the computer can also determine for each core one or more of the following information: - the surface of the core; - the perimeter of the nucleus; - the main management; - the coordinates in the image; - the length of the minor axis and the major axis of the ellipse which best models the object. The computer can obviously save these results in a file.
- the computer can determine information relating to the complete sample of a well from the data obtained for all the images of this well. Thus, he can estimate the total number of nuclei contained in the well according to the number of nuclei contained in the N images acquired from this well in view of the predetermined ratio between the partial surface of the well covered by the N images and the total surface of the well. It is also possible to determine the cell density by calculating the number of nuclei present as previously described and by dividing this number by the surface of the image.
- the computer can also establish statistics on each well concerning the other determined characteristics, in particular those listed above. In the case of a plurality of wells containing samples of the same condition, the computer can average the information relating to these wells to reduce the error rate.
- the computer can also calculate the number of cell divisions and the time it takes for the number of cells to double if the operator provides the number of cells originally seeded in the wells of box 1 and the culture time considering that the cell growth is exponential.
- the computer can store, for example in the form of files, the results of the analysis as well as the images acquired and or obtained after processing according to the different stages of the process.
- the method can be implemented with cytochemical dyes other than magenta.
- the dye can be determined experimentally, providing good distinctiveness of the nuclei compared to the rest.
- the lighting setting if provided and the camera settings - exposure time and aperture of the diaphragm - shooting can also be determined experimentally for each type of sample in order to provide images presenting a good contrast of the nuclei with respect to the background.
- the number N of images taken for the sample from a well is at least one.
- the larger the number N the larger the area of the sample covered by the images and the lower the information estimated by the computer for a given well.
- This number N can be determined experimentally to obtain an acceptable analysis error rate.
- 300 separate images of each well of a box 1 to 12 wells are acquired - each well having a diameter of 2.159 cm for 1 well and an area of 3.66 cm 2 with a 150-fold magnification of the microscope 2. These 300 images then cover approximately 90% of the total surface of the well.
- the method of the invention can be implemented on the basis of the Image J® software made available by the National Ihstitute of Health in the United States.
- nuclei marked with histological dyes advantageously makes it possible to analyze with the device of the invention in a sensitive and quantitative manner the consequences of the different culture conditions on cell density and therefore on cell growth. With these quantitative results, there may be associated a digital image of the cellular samples provided by the device thus obtained, which then constitutes an archived and reference document. This way of proceeding makes it possible to configure experimental approaches and therefore to increase traceability.
- An advantageous embodiment uses a nuclear dye such as Giemsa. allowing a staining of the cell nucleus which is not a staining of DNA.
- Non-DNA specific nuclear reagents can be used and are well known to those skilled in the art, such as Carmin d'Orth, Cresyl violet, Safrinine Q, Malachite green, Violet crystal, Hematoxyline, Eosine , Wright's dye, Methyl green or Thionin. This results in greater homogeneity of the signal originating from the nucleus and an absence of variation in the intensity of the signal as a function of the stages of DNA replication during the cell cycle. It is also possible to use the device of the invention and the method implemented with staining techniques other than cytochemical staining.
- specific stains of the cells can be used, in which case it is advantageous to use immunoenzymatic techniques with antibodies characterized by their specificity and by the existence of a large choice of specific antibodies.
- immunoperoxidase techniques can be used, the results of which can be observed under white light.
- the use of these specific colorations makes it possible in particular to analyze with the device of the invention, either cell cycle parameters, or differentiation parameters.
- the number of cells in S phase can be determined after labeling the cells with BrdU and recognition of the positive nuclei using an antibody directed against BrdU.
- Antibodies directed against various proteins involved in cell cycle control such as PCNA, P21, PI 6 and cyclin A, can also be used.
- the differentiation analysis can be performed using antibodies directed against specific transcription factors of a particular differentiating state.
- antibodies are used against the specific transcription factors of muscle tissue, the proteins of the MyoD family.
- Cell staining can also be obtained by the use of fluorescent markers. Vital dyes like bisbenzimide, which bind with high affinity to AON, make it possible to follow the growth on living cells and to analyze modifications of the organization of nuclear DNA which are associated with apoptosis.
- the fluorescent markers associated with antibodies directed against membrane proteins makes it possible to count the cells possessing this markers.
- the present invention is not limited to the examples and to the embodiment described and shown, but it is susceptible of numerous variants accessible to those skilled in the art.
- the acquired images can each be processed completely according to steps four to eight before proceeding to the complete processing of the following acquired image. Furthermore, it is not necessary to wait until all the N images have been acquired in the third step to start processing those already acquired.
- Concerning the iterative method of Ridler one can refer to the article by Ridler, Calvard, “Picture Thresholding Using an Interative Selection Method”, IEEE transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 1978. More generally concerning the determination of threshold (in English "thresholding”), we can in particular refer to: - T. Pun, "A new method for gray level picture thresholding using the entropy of the histogram", Signal Processing, 1980, vol. 2, p. 223-237; - N.
- a first example concerns the construction of a predictive toxicity cell test implemented in the form of a high throughput screening machine.
- the consequences of toxicity are multiple. The most frequent are modifications of the parameters of cell growth, cell death by apoptosis or by necrosis, morphological and functional modifications.
- the culture then the automated analysis according to the invention of cells cultured in multiple plates of for example 96 wells - which makes it possible to multiply the number of analyzes - makes it possible to provide predictive toxicological systems with high throughput.
- image analysis it is possible to extract quantitative data on cell growth, cell death, morphology and cellular functions.
- Ex vivo culture systems make it possible to control the cellular environment and to use specific cells.
- the use of cells from different tissues - such as liver, muscle, skin, nervous system, vessels - of the body allows to test the toxicity of molecules on these different tissues and therefore to build specific toxicological tests.
- the method according to the invention makes it possible to analyze the role of the presence of growth factor on cell density and on nuclear morphology.
- the steps are as follows.
- the different cell types are cultivated on multi-wells of 12 to 96 wells under different culture conditions to analyze the consequences of these experimental conditions, either on cell growth, or on cell cycle parameters and or on the frequency of differentiation.
- the cells are fixed, then stained.
- nuclear histological stains such as Giemsa after alcoholic fixation.
- Other histological dyes that can be used are the Carmine Orth,
- the cells are amplified in culture in the presence of human serum (PAA laboratory) and then seeded under the various conditions described. Growth factors can be added to the culture medium to promote cell growth. The cells are seeded in multiples of 12.
- the substrate used is gelatin and the seed density is 5000 cells per well.
- Giemsa staining After aspiration of the culture medium, the cells are washed with PBS and then fixed with 100% ethanol. 10 minutes later the cells are washed with water and then stained with a 10% Giemsa solution for 10 minutes. The final step is washing with water.
- Table 1 results of the selection of media XI, X2, X3 and X4 are different additives based on mixtures of growth factors.
- statins recent data indicates that the subjects presenting muscular attacks show neither correlations between the plasma level of this pharmacological agent and the toxic attack, nor of elevation of CPK. In these cases histology reveals in the muscle tissue modifications of the mitochondria (swelling) and accumulations of lipid droplets.
- Giemsa coloring After aspiration of the culture medium, the cells are washed with PBS and then fixed with 100% ethanol. 10 minutes later the cells are washed with water and then stained with a 10% Giemsa solution for 10 minutes. The final step is washing with water.
- Shooting The images are taken by a device according to the invention, and more particularly with the material given as an example. The digital processing is presented in Figure 9. This figure reveals the high toxicity of Cerivisatin. This statin class molecule has caused a very large number of toxic muscle accidents. This experiment shows that the combination of adapted cell type with automated analysis systems makes it possible to develop specific toxicological tests. The experiments being carried out in 96-well multi-well plates allow the development of high-throughput analysis.
- viruses The functionality of viruses is detected by their cytopathological capacity on specific target cells.
- One of the consequences of viral infection is cell lysis. This property is used for a test which makes it possible to detect the number of functional viruses. Briefly, the different stages of this test are: - the culture in micro-plates of 6 wells of the target cells - the viral infection by growing virus in the agar. This stage can last several days - the revelation of the lysis ranges after fixing and staining - the manual counting of these lysis ranges.
- the main limitations of this test are the complexity of the different stages depending on know-how.
- toxicology tests we use the 96 microplate culture associated with image analysis to count the cells and thus quantify the results.
- the different stages of this test are: - the culture of the target cells in a 96-well microplate - direct viral infection (without agar) by increasing amounts of virus - fixation (alcoholic) and staining with Giemsa (or alternatively
- this cell test makes it possible to screen for pharmacological agents involved in bone formation (osteoporosis).
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Immunology (AREA)
- Biomedical Technology (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Hematology (AREA)
- Urology & Nephrology (AREA)
- Molecular Biology (AREA)
- Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
- Pathology (AREA)
- Microbiology (AREA)
- Biotechnology (AREA)
- Cell Biology (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Biochemistry (AREA)
- Tropical Medicine & Parasitology (AREA)
- Toxicology (AREA)
- Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
- Virology (AREA)
- Proteomics, Peptides & Aminoacids (AREA)
- Physiology (AREA)
- Investigating Or Analysing Biological Materials (AREA)
- Measuring Or Testing Involving Enzymes Or Micro-Organisms (AREA)
- Apparatus Associated With Microorganisms And Enzymes (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA002544706A CA2544706A1 (fr) | 2003-11-07 | 2004-11-05 | Analyse automatique d'echantillons cellulaires |
JP2006537375A JP2007510893A (ja) | 2003-11-07 | 2004-11-05 | 細胞試料の自動分析 |
EP04805402A EP1682889A2 (fr) | 2003-11-07 | 2004-11-05 | Analyse automatique d'echantillons cellulaires |
US11/381,814 US20070003120A1 (en) | 2003-11-07 | 2006-05-05 | Automatic analysis of cellular samples |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
FR0313121A FR2862069B1 (fr) | 2003-11-07 | 2003-11-07 | Analyse automatique d'echantillons cellulaires |
FR0313121 | 2003-11-07 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2005047896A2 true WO2005047896A2 (fr) | 2005-05-26 |
WO2005047896A3 WO2005047896A3 (fr) | 2005-07-28 |
Family
ID=34508340
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/FR2004/002854 WO2005047896A2 (fr) | 2003-11-07 | 2004-11-05 | Analyse automatique d’echantillons cellulaires |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20070003120A1 (fr) |
EP (1) | EP1682889A2 (fr) |
JP (1) | JP2007510893A (fr) |
KR (1) | KR20060127403A (fr) |
CA (1) | CA2544706A1 (fr) |
FR (1) | FR2862069B1 (fr) |
WO (1) | WO2005047896A2 (fr) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2008249679A (ja) * | 2007-03-06 | 2008-10-16 | Furukawa Electric Co Ltd:The | 微細粒子のスクリーニング装置および微細粒子のスクリーニング方法 |
Families Citing this family (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
PT1934860E (pt) * | 2005-10-12 | 2014-09-15 | Intelligent Virus Imaging Inc | Identificação e classificação de partículas virais em micrografias electrónicas texturizadas |
US9312964B2 (en) * | 2006-09-22 | 2016-04-12 | Alcatel Lucent | Reconstruction and restoration of an optical signal field |
EP2034310A1 (fr) * | 2007-09-08 | 2009-03-11 | Kaiwood Technology Co. Ltd. | Procédé de détection d'images pour bandes de test |
US8948488B2 (en) * | 2009-07-31 | 2015-02-03 | General Electric Company | Methods and systems for digitally enhancing an image of a stained material |
EP3249406A1 (fr) * | 2016-05-27 | 2017-11-29 | PerkinElmer Cellular Technologies Germany GmbH | Procede de determination du nombre de foyers d'infection d'une culture cellulaire |
KR200481485Y1 (ko) | 2016-06-15 | 2016-10-06 | (주)가온솔루션 | 웰 플레이트 트레이 |
US20220383584A1 (en) * | 2019-09-18 | 2022-12-01 | Inveox Gmbh | System and methods for generating a 3d model of a pathology sample |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1998038490A1 (fr) * | 1997-02-27 | 1998-09-03 | Cellomics, Inc. | Systeme de criblage de cellules |
EP1148330A2 (fr) * | 2000-04-18 | 2001-10-24 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Appareil et procédé de détection d'un changement morphologique dans un échantillon organisme |
WO2002067195A2 (fr) * | 2001-02-20 | 2002-08-29 | Cytokinetics, Inc. | Extraction d'informations de forme contenues dans des images de cellules |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5989835A (en) * | 1997-02-27 | 1999-11-23 | Cellomics, Inc. | System for cell-based screening |
US6656683B1 (en) * | 2000-07-05 | 2003-12-02 | Board Of Regents, The University Of Texas System | Laser scanning cytology with digital image capture |
-
2003
- 2003-11-07 FR FR0313121A patent/FR2862069B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2004
- 2004-11-05 WO PCT/FR2004/002854 patent/WO2005047896A2/fr active Application Filing
- 2004-11-05 KR KR1020067011141A patent/KR20060127403A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2004-11-05 CA CA002544706A patent/CA2544706A1/fr not_active Abandoned
- 2004-11-05 EP EP04805402A patent/EP1682889A2/fr not_active Withdrawn
- 2004-11-05 JP JP2006537375A patent/JP2007510893A/ja not_active Withdrawn
-
2006
- 2006-05-05 US US11/381,814 patent/US20070003120A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1998038490A1 (fr) * | 1997-02-27 | 1998-09-03 | Cellomics, Inc. | Systeme de criblage de cellules |
EP1148330A2 (fr) * | 2000-04-18 | 2001-10-24 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Appareil et procédé de détection d'un changement morphologique dans un échantillon organisme |
WO2002067195A2 (fr) * | 2001-02-20 | 2002-08-29 | Cytokinetics, Inc. | Extraction d'informations de forme contenues dans des images de cellules |
Non-Patent Citations (2)
Title |
---|
KUO HON-REEN ET AL: "Identification of early apoptosis in Feulgen-stained cultured cells in situ by computerized image analysis" CYTOMETRY, vol. 33, no. 4, 1 décembre 1998 (1998-12-01), pages 420-427, XP002285587 ISSN: 0196-4763 * |
MALPICA N ET AL: "APPLYING WATERSHED ALGORITHMS TO THE SEGMENTATION OF CLUSTERED NUCLEI" CYTOMETRY, ALAN LISS, NEW YORK, US, vol. 28, no. 4, 1997, pages 289-297, XP001149070 ISSN: 0196-4763 * |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2008249679A (ja) * | 2007-03-06 | 2008-10-16 | Furukawa Electric Co Ltd:The | 微細粒子のスクリーニング装置および微細粒子のスクリーニング方法 |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
FR2862069B1 (fr) | 2006-06-23 |
WO2005047896A3 (fr) | 2005-07-28 |
FR2862069A1 (fr) | 2005-05-13 |
US20070003120A1 (en) | 2007-01-04 |
JP2007510893A (ja) | 2007-04-26 |
KR20060127403A (ko) | 2006-12-12 |
CA2544706A1 (fr) | 2005-05-26 |
EP1682889A2 (fr) | 2006-07-26 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
Shihan et al. | A simple method for quantitating confocal fluorescent images | |
Jonkman et al. | Tutorial: guidance for quantitative confocal microscopy | |
CN102667473B (zh) | 用于组织的增强的病理学测定和多分析物检测的多模态对比和明场背景再现 | |
Buchser et al. | Assay development guidelines for image-based high content screening, high content analysis and high content imaging | |
CN109313798B (zh) | 用于生成模拟数字明场ihc或ish图像的方法和图像处理系统 | |
Janssens et al. | The natural variation in lifespans of single yeast cells is related to variation in cell size, ribosomal protein, and division time | |
Melo et al. | Whole slide imaging and its applications to histopathological studies of liver disorders | |
Colin et al. | Quantitative 3D-imaging for cell biology and ecology of environmental microbial eukaryotes | |
JP2019530847A5 (fr) | ||
Arandian et al. | Optical imaging approaches to monitor static and dynamic cell‐on‐chip platforms: A tutorial review | |
Henriksen et al. | Laser scanning cytometry and its applications: a pioneering technology in the field of quantitative imaging cytometry | |
Fereidouni et al. | Dual-mode emission and transmission microscopy for virtual histochemistry using hematoxylin-and eosin-stained tissue sections | |
US20070003120A1 (en) | Automatic analysis of cellular samples | |
Wang | Single molecule RNA FISH (smFISH) in whole‐mount mouse embryonic organs | |
Jafree et al. | Tissue clearing and deep imaging of the kidney using confocal and two-photon microscopy | |
Denner et al. | High-content analysis in preclinical drug discovery | |
JP2008523376A (ja) | 生体の画像化の方法、ならびにそのための装置およびコンピュータソフトウェア | |
JP2008523376A5 (fr) | ||
EP2347296B1 (fr) | Procédure de préparation d'une image d'analyse virtuelle traitée | |
Reitz et al. | SEQUIN: An imaging and analysis platform for quantification and characterization of synaptic structures in mouse | |
EP2300985A1 (fr) | Procede d'analyse cellulaire d'un prelevement au moyen d'une plaque d'analyse virtuelle | |
Niederlein et al. | Image analysis in high content screening | |
KR20210122261A (ko) | 스펙트럼 언믹싱 | |
Larsen et al. | Reporting reproducible imaging protocols | |
WO2010092271A1 (fr) | Procédé de préparation d'une plaque d'analyse virtuelle traitée |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AK | Designated states |
Kind code of ref document: A2 Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BW BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ DE DK DM DZ EC EE EG ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NA NI NO NZ OM PG PH PL PT RO RU SC SD SE SG SK SL SY TJ TM TN TR TT TZ UA UG US UZ VC VN YU ZA ZM ZW |
|
AL | Designated countries for regional patents |
Kind code of ref document: A2 Designated state(s): GM KE LS MW MZ NA SD SL SZ TZ UG ZM ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IS IT LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG |
|
121 | Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application | ||
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2006537375 Country of ref document: JP |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2544706 Country of ref document: CA |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2004805402 Country of ref document: EP |
|
DPEN | Request for preliminary examination filed prior to expiration of 19th month from priority date (pct application filed from 20040101) | ||
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 1020067011141 Country of ref document: KR |
|
WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 2004805402 Country of ref document: EP |
|
WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 1020067011141 Country of ref document: KR |