Visit our updated ‘What’s New‘ section on the Tissue Studio microsite to get an overview on novel functionality. Learn more about the novel nucleus morphology filters, the vessel detection module, improved train-by-example technology and new quality control workflows among other additions.
Click here to read the blog post introducing the new version.
From the editor: FiercePharma Senior Editor Tracy Staton published an insightful ebook on companion diagnostics last week. It’s suggested reading for anyone interested in the promises of companion diagnostics, the obstacles on the way towards their widespread adoption and suggestions for their most effective development. The FDAs policy and the recent draft guidance on companion diagnostics (also see earlier post) receive particular attention and are very well put into context. It’s no big news that co-development of drugs and companion diagnostics will be required. However, the author’s broad discussion includes valuable thoughts on why the required efforts are challenging and how early partnerships between drugmakers and diagnostics companies can help meeting these challenges. Personalized medicine is still a somewhat distant goal but we’re starting to understand better how to get there. Click here to read the article on Fierce Biotech News or get the ebook.
From the editor: Big news from Roche and Novartis raise hopes for an improved treatment of breast cancer. See some of the enthusiastic comments below. Roche’s data on pertuzumab is particularly impressive and suggests that Herceptin treatment might be complemented with pertuzumab in the future. Interestingly, this raises the possibility that new diagnostics tests will be needed to identify the optimal combination of drugs for each patient. We might be getting closer to a personalized treatment of breast cancer.
From the editor:
In 2011, the number of articles in peer-reviewed journals published by scientists using Definiens technology increased about threefold compared to 2010. As impressive as the dynamic increase is the wide variety of image analysis tasks that are successfully solved with Definiens technology.
Visit our publication archive to learn more.
From the editor: In a very interesting study published in last weeks issue of Science Translational Medicine Andrew Beck and colleages demonstrate that modern bioinformatics has the potential to transform pathology. The authors use sophisticated image analysis for a systematic analysis of breast cancer morphology and correlate over 6000 features extracted from the tissue samples with patient outcome. They could show that a subset of these – including both epithelial and stromal features – is highly associated with survival. David Rimm puts this landmark work succintly in focus in a complementary comment: “Computer-based quantification of tumor morphology has arguably solved the problem of standardized tumor grading.” His point is not that Beck et al. solved all challenges already. But they indicate the direction modern pathology should take.
I couldn’t agree more. We at Definiens are convinced that this is the way to go and hope to make going it a little easier with the introduction of the Definiens Image Miner. While not available yet at the time Beck et al. performed their breaking work, it has been designed to make similar things happen. And it builds on the same sophisticated image analysis technology Becks C-Path (computational pathologists) relies on – Definiens Cognition Network Technology.
Both the article itself and the insightful introduction by David Rimm are recommended reading for anyone interested in how quantitative image analyis can be combined with powerful data mining to transform pathology. Open-minded pathologists will embrace their computational colleague and should keep on teaching him. The rewards may well include better tools to fight cancer.
From the editor: Definiens recently launched a new version of the leading image analysis solution for quantitative digital pathology, Tissue Studio. I will briefly introduce its main features in a loose sequence of posts trying to answer one of the following questions each.
What can Tissue Studio do for you?
Who is Tissue Studio designed for?
Why is Tissue Studio the solution of choice?
Please watch out for forthcoming entries to learn more on new functionality of the new version or have a look at the recordings of the introductory webinar.
Last week, Definiens released a new product portfolio designed to advance biomedical research and tissue-based biomarker development with solutions for image analysis and data mining. It includes updated versions of Definiens Tissue Studio, Definiens Developer XD, as well as a completely novel component, Definiens Image Miner.
Learn more on one of the following occasions:
- Definiens Product launch webinar (October 26 – see the recorded webinar on YouTube)
- Definiens Workshop at Pathology Visions (October 30)
- Definiens Tissue Studio 3 webinar (November 9 – see the recorded webinar on YouTube)
The Definiens team is excited to introduce you to new opportunities in Quantitative Digital Pathology.
Around 100 participants joined the Second International Definiens Symposium at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Florida and made it an inspiring event. The presentations provided a comprehensive overview of image analysis solutions in biopharma and academia – with a focus on tissue-based biomarker development. Keynote lectures by Prof. Dr. Manfred Dietel (Charité, Berlin, Germany) and Dr. Robert Gillies (Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL) offered insights into present and future of digital pathology. Lunch and coffee breaks and an enjoyable evening event provided ample networking opportunity between participants and the interactive spirit of the meeting was apparent in lively question and answer sessions. Definiens launched a new generation of products at the symposium and profited from immediate feedback in hands-on sessions and discussions with experienced users. New functionalities of Definiens Tissue Studio and Definiens Developer were well received and the new component to the product suite – Definiens Image Miner – attracted particular interest. The organization team is pleased by favorable participant feedback and cordially invites to next year’s symposium that will be held in Europe.
Munich, Germany – October 20, 2011 Definiens, the leading Health Image Intelligence™ company, today announced the release of its new Quantitative Digital Pathology portfolio, designed to advance translational research in pathology, specifically in biomarker development. The new portfolio will offer updated versions of Definiens Tissue Studio®, Definiens Developer XD™ as well as the introduction of a novel component, Definiens Image Miner™.
The technology in Definiens’ recently released product suite will provide high accuracy in automatically identifying relevant structures of interest and specific morphology in histology, resulting in a detailed phenotypic fingerprint and biomarker expression profile on a cell-by-cell basis. The large set of descriptors can be correlated against therapy response or patient outcome with the goal of identifying new types of biomarkers of predictive or prognostic value.
In recent years, Definiens has generated a large footprint over the entire bandwidth of biomedical applications, specifically in the field of Quantitative Digital Pathology and Biomarker Research. Definiens Tissue Studio® has already been established as an industry standard. Now we are embarking on a new frontier with the introduction of Definiens’ next generation of products. Existing products for image analysis will be significantly improved, with a focus on tissue-based biomarker research, providing high accuracy in automatically identifying relevant structures of interest and specific morphology in histology. The result is a detailed phenotypic fingerprint and biomarker expression profile on a cell-by-cell basis. In addition, a completely new component will be added to Definiens suite of products, which will allow users to leverage the enormous value of the received measurements and data. This component will closely integrate image analysis with data and image mining. An illustration of this component is the correlation of a large set of descriptors against therapy response or patient outcome in order to identify relevant biomarkers of predictive or prognostic value.
Click here to learn more.
The program for the 2011 the 2011 Definiens Symposium is approaching completion and it provides an interesting mixture of insights into the deployment of image analysis solutions in both industry and academia. Key note lectures will be given by Prof Dr Manfred Dietel (Director of the Institute of Pathology, Charité, Berlin, Germany; talk title: ‘Virtual Microscopy on the Stony Way to Revolutionize Anatomic Pathology’) and Dr Robert Gillies (Vice Chair Radiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL; talk title: ‘Multiscalar Image Analysis: A Window onto Tumor Heterogeneity’). Thomas Heydler (CEO Definiens) will highlight how Definiens’ image analysis can support clincal decisions.
Register today to ensure your seat at the leading event for Definiens Image Analysis users around the world in Cancer Research, Pharmaceutical & Biotech, Clinical & Academic settings.
Housing will close September 27th, for special discounted rates. If you want to contribute a poster, please send an email to academy@definiens.com by September 16th.
The Definiens Team is looking forward having you join us for this event.
From the editor:
Two weeks ago, the FDA released a new draft guidance that should be of interest to anyone working in the digital pathology field to or anyone interested in companion diagnostics. It could be even more important to those not interested in companion diagnostics if they are into drug development. I’ll briefly summarize some main points but the draft clearly deserves detailed reading.
After the great success and feedback from the Definiens Symposium 2010 in Madrid, Definiens is pleased to announce the International Definiens Symposium 2011. The event will take place at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, October 17-18, 2011. We invite you to join this event to hear about groundbreaking research, meet other users and share your ideas.
The annual Definiens Symposium is the premier forum for Definiens users and developers from around the world to present their latest research, techniques and workflows in life science image and data analysis. Participants come from research institutions, bio-pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare sector. The 2011 Definiens Symposium will be an ideal opportunity to share the latest ideas in state-of-the-art image analysis and to meet international experts from the Definiens community. A social networking event will take place in Tampa’s latin quarter, Ybor City, on Monday evening. Transportation between the Symposium venue and the evening event will be arranged.
When: October 17-18, 2011
Venue: Venue: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Vincent A. Stabile Research Building, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
Registration: Click here to register or to learn more.
Sessions will include:
Biomarker Development and Validation
Basic Research and Drug Discovery
Toxicity and Efficacy Studies
Clinical Diagnostics
There have been a number of interesting publications featuring Definiens technology in the first half of 2011. They demonstrate how academic research benefits from Definiens approach to image analysis and illustrate the wide range of possible applications.
Click here to learn more.
Bendtsen et al. Int J Biomed Imaging. 2011; 2011:361589.
Del Río et al. Glia. 2011 May;59(5):821-32.
Eberhardt et al. Glia. 2011 May;59(5):697-707.
Mech et al. PLoS One. 2011 May 5;6(5):e19591.
Nikić et al. Nat Med. 2011 Apr;17(4):495-9.
Pickl et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2011. Vol 29, No 15_suppl.
Wilbertz et al. Mod Pathol. 2011 Jul;24(7):944-53.
