Cleveland Clinic spinoff to develop umbilical cord stem cell tool
Cleveland Clinic spinoff ImageIQ has partnered with its former parent organization, along with the National Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Cleveland Cord Blood Center, to develop software for assessing umbilical cord blood for the potential of its stem cells.
Such assessments could direct researchers and clinicians on whether or not to cryopreserve a unit of cord blood for future clinical use, according to the ImageIQ press release announcing the venture. The new software will build on an earlier iteration developed while ImageIQ functioned as the Cleveland Clinic’s Biomedical Imaging and Analysis Center. After operating for nearly a decade in that capacity, ImageIQ formally launched as a standalone last May.
Other players are involved in the software-development project. The Ohio Third Frontier Program will have project oversight and fund it for three years, while the Clinical Tissue Engineering Center will lend its expertise in translating tissue-engineering advances into clinical diagnostics and therapies.
For its part, ImageIQ will use its “extensive cell biology, image analysis and software engineering expertise to develop automated quantitative image analysis software,” according to the release, which added that the project will initially deploy at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center.
“The complex nature of our stem cell research and technology development programs necessitates a custom, application-specific approach to characterizing stem cells using image analysis and visualization,” George Muschler, MD, director of CTEC and principal investigator for the Cleveland Clinic, stated in the release. “Pairing our stem cell biology expertise with ImageIQ’s experience in utilizing custom imaging and image analysis to improve stem cell research will enable our team to develop a truly valuable technology.”
Such assessments could direct researchers and clinicians on whether or not to cryopreserve a unit of cord blood for future clinical use, according to the ImageIQ press release announcing the venture. The new software will build on an earlier iteration developed while ImageIQ functioned as the Cleveland Clinic’s Biomedical Imaging and Analysis Center. After operating for nearly a decade in that capacity, ImageIQ formally launched as a standalone last May.
Other players are involved in the software-development project. The Ohio Third Frontier Program will have project oversight and fund it for three years, while the Clinical Tissue Engineering Center will lend its expertise in translating tissue-engineering advances into clinical diagnostics and therapies.
For its part, ImageIQ will use its “extensive cell biology, image analysis and software engineering expertise to develop automated quantitative image analysis software,” according to the release, which added that the project will initially deploy at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center.
“The complex nature of our stem cell research and technology development programs necessitates a custom, application-specific approach to characterizing stem cells using image analysis and visualization,” George Muschler, MD, director of CTEC and principal investigator for the Cleveland Clinic, stated in the release. “Pairing our stem cell biology expertise with ImageIQ’s experience in utilizing custom imaging and image analysis to improve stem cell research will enable our team to develop a truly valuable technology.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.