OrBITS Platform: A Cloud-Based Image Analysis and Drug Screening Service.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have facilitated the development of solutions for numerous industrial, academic, and research challenges. We have developed a software, named Organoid Brightfield Identification-based Therapy Screening (OrBITS), for image-based analysis of 2D and 3D cancer cell cultures using computer vision technology combined with a convolutional network, machine learning approach (priority patents filed). As such, our OrBITS software can provide 2 major services: 1) software as a service for image-based research analysis and 2) high-throughput screening of therapeutic compounds. The technology and services are already of high interest to both industrial and academic partners, and we have begun performing image analysis and drug screening services for both internal and external groups. However, in order to facilitate and expand our service capacity, some technological and operational gaps must be met. Notably, we require dedicated personnel to perform drug screening of compounds provided by the clients, conduct routine maintenance of biological cultures, and integrate our current workflow with recently acquired state-of-the-art equipment (e.g. Tecan Spark Cyto live imager, Tecan D300e drug printer, Opentron OT-2 pipetting robot). The documentation and standardization of this workflow will streamline future expansion and increase service capacity. Furthermore, we aim to migrate our software to a cloud-based system to centralize data storage and training of the software AI network. Setting up this cloud system will resolve many issues associated with image-based analysis (e.g. inadequate data storage and traffic, inefficient and incremental software updates, absent data sets), which are described by our industrial and academic collaborators. Setting up this cloud-based system will further allow our AI software training unit to stay up-to-date and relevant with the fast past of scientific and translational research, thus keeping our image-based analysis and drug screening services at the cutting edge. Lastly, we aim to work with a dedicated business developer to perform market analysis, optimize pricing and advertisement strategies, and develop a business plan for our service platform, as currently we are working on a collaborative (case-by-case) modality. The technology and business development aims proposed here will enable the establishment of the OrBITS Platform to become a self-sustaining service provider with the ability to scale as the clients and needs increase.

Keywords:BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, COMPUTER VISION, 3D SPHEROID MODEL, TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, IMAGE PROCESSING, DRUG SCREENING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Disciplines:Machine learning and decision making, Biomedical image processing, Oncology not elsewhere classified