横河电机（Yokogawa）公司发布CellVoyager®CV8000，这是一种功能增强的高通量细胞学发现系统。

CV8000的特点是细胞培养箱具有改进的气密设计，便于长时间观察细胞行为。此外，CV8000附带CellPathfinder，这是一个新程序，可以分析未标记细胞的图像和样本的3D图像。凭借这些特点，CV8000提高了药物发现研究和iPS和ES细胞等生物医学研究的效率。

横河将于9月19日至20日在西班牙马德里举行的2017年SLAS欧洲HCS大会上展示CV8000。本次活动的组织者，实验室自动化与筛选协会（SLAS），在生命科学领域享誉世界。

开发背景：

高含量分析（HCA）系统可通过筛选多达一百万种不同的化合物来识别新的候选药物，在药物发现领域得到广泛应用。使用HCA，用候选化合物处理细胞，用显微镜照相机对细胞成像，并分析图像以确定细胞对化合物的反应。HCA系统的需求很高，因为它们可以自动执行测试序列。通过加快筛选过程，他们能够快速分析大量候选化合物。为了确定候选化合物的功效及其作用机制，还必须长期观察细胞。因此，使用HCA系统的研究人员需要它们提供一种环境，使细胞能够长期孵育和观察。细胞核和线粒体等器官通常用荧光染料标记，以便于在显微镜下观察，但这有时会对细胞产生有害影响。为了能够观察活细胞，越来越需要荧光标记技术的替代品。消除耗时的标签过程也将大大提高通量。然而，由于未标记细胞的图像对比度低，难以自动分析其图像。CV8000是为了满足这些需求而开发的。

产品特点：

1、改善培养环境，以便长期观察活细胞。用于培养细胞的阶段培养箱可用于CellVoyager系列系统。这些细胞在微孔板上的数百个孔中培养，并用特殊机制分配的化合物处理。尽管该机制的早期版本能够在捕获细胞图像的同时将候选化合物分配到每个孔中，但其设计方式使得难以在细胞培养箱中实现气密密封。为了实现更紧密的密封，横河重新设计了这一机制。结果，CO2可以保持在恒定水平，从而使孔中的细胞在更均匀的环境中孵育。因此，CV8000是理想的应用，例如在用不同化合物处理或引入基因修饰后观察活癌细胞的动力学和增殖，以及快速现象，例如活心肌细胞的搏动。

2.用于分析未标记细胞的图像和样品的3D图像的软件。CellPathfinder图像分析软件是为CV8000开发的。通过使用机器学习算法，该软件能够识别和分析亮场显微镜拍摄的未标记细胞图像中的模式。该功能使用横河于2015年开发的图像分析技术，该技术基于从芬兰公司Chip Man Technologies转让的技术。利用该功能，在不同距离拍摄的细胞的多个重叠亮场图像被组合以产生高对比度图像。这清楚地显示了细胞轮廓，而不需要相位对比透镜。此外，通过对这些图像使用新的模式识别功能，可以准确地分析随时间发生的细胞增殖变化。该软件还具有3D图像分析功能，用于观察在类似于自然环境的3D条件下生长的细胞。该功能使细胞聚集体积、表面积和位置易于量化。CellPathfinder也可以与横河的CQ1共焦定量图像细胞仪一起使用，用于高精度细胞定量。

3.多色标记细胞的快速成像。为了成像，细胞核和线粒体等细胞器用不同的荧光染料标记，每种荧光染料都被设置为相应波长的激光激发。为了捕捉这些细胞器的图像，每种荧光染料都需要一台单独的照相机。如果HCA系统没有多个摄像头，则必须对每个波长重复成像。CV8000可容纳四个摄像头（CellVoyager CV7000最多可容纳三个）。由于细胞通常标记不超过四种颜色，CV8000可以在一次拍摄中捕获图像。与CV7000相比，这将四色图像所需的时间减少了至少20%。此外，连续拍摄能够观察化合物刚给药后细胞的快速变化。可以选择的激光波长的数量已经从四个增加到五个。CV8000提供了许多功能强大的新功能，其占地面积也比CellVoyager CV7000小40%，重量也比其轻20%。

4.具有性能的针孔大小的Nipkow磁盘。CellVoyager系列使用微透镜增强的Nipkow共焦光盘。CV8000可接受两种不同针孔直径的磁盘：25 um和50 um、 25 um磁盘可以高清观察细胞结构，而传统的50 um盘适于观察具有弱荧光的细胞。根据情况，用户可以选择适当的磁盘以获得清晰的图像。

主要目标市场：制药公司的研发部门、药物发现研究机构和生物医学基础研究组织。

Yokogawa Electric Corporation Releases of the Cellvoyager® Cv8000

Yokogawa Electric Corporation released of the CellVoyager® CV8000, a high-throughput cytological discovery system with enhanced functions. The CV8000 features a cell incubator with an improved airtight design that facilitates the observation of cell behavior over long periods of time. In addition, the CV8000 comes with CellPathfinder, a new program that can analyze images of unlabeled cells and 3D images of samples. With these features, the CV8000 improves the efficiency of drug discovery research and biomedical research on subjects such as iPS and ES cells. Yokogawa will be displaying the CV8000 at the SLAS Europe High-Content Screening Conference 2017, which is to be held September 19 - 20 in Madrid, Spain. The organizer of this event, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), is world-renowned in the life science field. Development Background: High content analysis (HCA) systems that can identify new drug candidates by screening up to a million separate compounds are entering wide use in the drug discovery field. With HCA, cells are treated with candidate compounds, the cells are imaged by a microscope camera, and the images are analyzed to determine how the cells reacted to the compounds. HCA systems are in high demand because they can carry out the test sequence automatically. By thus speeding up the screening process, they are able to quickly analyze large numbers of candidate compounds. To determine the efficacy of candidate compounds and the mechanism of their effects, cells must also be observed over a long period of time. Accordingly, researchers who use HCA systems need for them to provide an environment that enables cells to be incubated and observed for long periods. Organelles such as nuclei and mitochondria are often labeled with fluorescent dyes to make them easier to observe under a microscope, but this sometimes has a harmful effect on the cells. To enable the observation of living cells, there is an increasing need for alternatives to the fluorescent labeling technique. Elimination of the time-consuming labeling process also would considerably improve throughput. However, it is difficult to automatically analyze images of unlabeled cells because of their low image contrast. The CV8000 was developed to address such needs. Product Features: 1. Improved incubation environment for the long-term observation of living cells. A stage incubator for the incubation of cells is available for use with CellVoyager series systems. The cells are cultured in hundreds of wells on micro well plates, and are treated with compounds that are dispensed using a special mechanism. Although the earlier version of this mechanism was capable of dispensing candidate compounds to each of the wells while images of the cells were being captured, it was designed in such a way that it was difficult to achieve an airtight seal in the cell incubator. To achieve a tighter seal, Yokogawa has redesigned this mechanism. As a result, CO2 can be maintained at a constant level, allowing the cells in the wells to be incubated in a more uniform environment. Thus, the CV8000 is ideal for applications such as the observation of the kinetics and proliferation of living cancer cells after treatment with different compounds or the introduction of genetic modifications, as well as rapid phenomena such as the pulsation of living cardiac muscle cells. 2. Software for analyzing images of unlabeled cells and 3D images of samples. The CellPathfinder image analysis software was developed for the CV8000. Through the use of machine learning algorithms, this software is capable of recognizing and analyzing patterns in images of unlabeled cells taken with bright-field microscopes. This function uses an image analysis technology that Yokogawa developed in 2015 based on a technology transferred from the Finnish company Chip-Man Technologies. With this function, multiple overlapping bright-field images of cells taken at various distances are combined to produce a high-contrast image. This clearly visualizes cell profiles without the need for phase-contrast lenses. Furthermore, by using the new pattern recognition function with these images, it is possible to accurately analyze changes in cell proliferation that occur over time. This software also has a 3D image analysis function for the observation of cells that are being grown under 3D-conditions similar to a natural environment. This function makes it easy to quantify cell aggregate volume, surface area, and location. CellPathfinder can also be used with Yokogawa's CQ1 confocal quantitative image cytometer for the high-precision quantification of cells. 3. Quick imaging of multicolor-labeled cells. For imaging, cell organelles such as nuclei and mitochondria are labeled with different fluorescent dyes, and each of the fluorescent dyes is excited by a laser set to the corresponding wavelength. To capture images of these organelles, a separate camera is required for each fluorescent dye. If an HCA system does not have multiple cameras, imaging must be repeated for each wavelength. The CV8000 can accommodate four cameras (up from three for the CellVoyager CV7000). Since cells are usually labeled with no more than four colors, the CV8000 can capture images in one shot. Compared to the CV7000, this reduces the amount of time required for a four-color image by at least 20%. Moreover, continuous shooting enables observation of the rapid changes in cells that occur just after a compound is administered. The number of laser wavelengths that can be selected has been increased from four to five. And while offering a number of powerful new functions, the CV8000 also has a 40% smaller footprint and weighs 20% less than the CellVoyager CV7000. 4. Pinhole-sized Nipkow disk with performance. The CellVoyager series uses microlens-enhanced Nipkow confocal disks. The CV8000 can accept disks with two different pinhole diameters: 25 ?m and 50 ?m. The 25 ?m disk enables high-definition observation of cell structures, and the conventional 50 ?m disk is suited for observing cells with weak fluorescence. Depending on conditions, users can select the appropriate disk to obtain clear images. Main Target Markets: Research and development departments of pharmaceutical companies, drug discovery research institutions, and biomedical basic research organizations.