Discover the future of cell research

Discover the future of cell research

Insightsfrom industryYael Geva & Andreas FrieseIDEA Bio-Medical LtdOLS OMNI Life Science

Could you please introduce yourself and outline your tasks at OLS?

YG:My name is Yael Geva and I am an operations manager at IDEA-Bio Ltd in Tel Aviv, Israel.

AF:I am Andreas Friese and I am sales manager and COO at OLS OMNI Life Science (OLS).

Screening of live zebrafish in multiwell plates with Hermes Imaging System from IDEA Bio. Photo credit: IDEA Bio-Medical

What industry does OLS specialize in and how did the partnership with IDEA Bio-Medical come about?

AF:The focus of OLS is Cell research, and we strive to be the preferred cell research partner for our customers. OLS is based in Bremen, Germany, and is a family business. Although OLS has existed in some form since 2004, the last few years have allowed OLS to carve out our niche in cell research.

At OLS we manufacture our own products and instruments such as: CASY cell counter & analyzer which is widespread worldwide, as well as the CERO 3D Incubator & bioreactor, which is also manufactured in-house and sold worldwide. Today we are working closely with IDEA Bio-Medical to find companies in this space that are interested and able to envision what we are cultivating in our CERO.

How are OLS products cultivated?

AF:At OLS, we cultivate our products in-house, from cells to spheroids and organoids. OLS cultivates stem cells and even pieces of tissue. Our teams believe that the Hermes WiScan system is an incredibly innovative, fast tool that enables the next generation of high content imaging on the market.

Multiscales of biology covered with Hermes imaging system: from 2D cell cultures to 3D spheroids and whole organisms. Photo credit: IDEA Bio-Medical

What is the focus of IDEA Bio-Medical and how does this fit with the ethos and focus of OLS?

YG: IDEA Bio-Medical is an Israeli company. We specialize in automated imaging and automated analysis for the field of cell biology. We have our flagship product, the Hermes WiScan, about ten years ago. Our market consists primarily of researchers working on cell biology within academia and pharmaceutical drug discovery companies conducting drug screening, as well as biotech companies.

There is a strong ideological connection and shared ethos IDEA Bio and OLS. This is partly due to OLS's innovation: the company doesn't just buy and sell; Instead, it develops and produces its own products. The two organizations also work in complementary areas: OLS focuses on the life sciences within cell biology and includes sample preparation and cultivation, and here at IDEA Bio-Medical we complement this by covering imaging and analysis. Together, our two organizations create a complete workflow that can be a pillar of support for the market.

What is the Hermes Imaging System?

YG:The Hermes Imaging System is essentially a platform for the researcher – or anyone conducting life science research who wants to visualize and quantify everything that goes on inside cells at the cellular level.

The system can scan multiwell plates and slides in multiple fluorescence channels and brightfield channels. It then automatically analyzes all of these images and extracts quantitative, meaningful information from these samples. This can be applied to a range of applications including cancer research, virology and immunology – essentially the system supports anything related to the field of cell biology.

CERO 3D cell culture incubator from OLS OMNI life science. Photo credit: OLS OMNI Life Science

What are the features of the Hermes imaging system?

YG:We are particularly excited about several new features in the Hermes imaging system that we recently launched. One of the new features is in the zebrafish area and offers a Complete solution for zebrafish screening content-rich and automated, which includes both image capture and analysis.

The analysis is unique in that it is a deep learning AI-based analysis that discretely segments all compartments within the fish along with the fish outline in a bright field without labeling. This analysis covers a wide range of research in the analysis of zebrafish, which is now an emerging model for cell biology.

Another exciting feature is our new one automated oil immersion Module. Essentially, it enables fully automated screening of multiwell plates with oil immersion without the need for user intervention. There is no need to work with the oil manually, but the user still benefits from the high resolution and brighter contrast at smaller, shorter time intervals.

Essentially, the system increases throughput without the user having to do anything; the process is carried out automatically. Terabytes of data are automatically collected, analyzed, quantified and documented – the user simply needs to load the samples into the system to start the process. The other advantage is that all data is analyzed in an unbiased manner, which is crucial for scientific research. Instead of a human doing the segmentation, the system gives the user a real picture of what's going on in their sample.

How will the combined expertise of both organizations be used to benefit OLS and IDEA Bio customers?

AF:Essentially, all of the significant research that IDEA Bio has conducted over the past few years to develop this AI-driven instrumentation for high-content screening in zebrafish is now being deployed to OLS Omni Life Sciences' customers in the fields Cell research Cell biology and 3D cell culture to perform accurate cutting-edge analysis on 3D structures.

In other words, it is an ideal connection between the two organizations: OLS Omni Life Science, which develops the culture systems for many of these cellular structures, and these are then analyzed accurately and quickly using IDEA Bio-Medical's instruments.

Over the speakers

Yael Enzer Geva

Operations Manager at IDEA Bio-Medical

Yael is a biotechnology engineer and has been part of the IDEA Bio-Medical team since 2015. Yael has extensive experience supporting the sales and marketing of scientific laboratory equipment, automated microscopy and image analysis software platforms.

Dr. Andreas Fries

COOat OLS OMNI Life Sciences

Andreas has a PhD in biological sciences and has been COO of OLS Omni Life Sciences since 2018. Andreas has extensive experience in the life sciences industry and has led sales teams of cell research devices and cell culture devices.

About IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

IDEA Bio-Medical was founded in 2007 through a partnership between YEDA (the commercialization arm of the Weizmann Institute) and IDEA Machine Development (an innovation center).

We specialize in automated imaging systems and image analysis software, offering a wide range of biological applications based on the company's unique library of algorithms. The company develops novel image-based screening platforms for the pharmaceutical industry and medical centers to expand the scope of personalized medicine.

Our WiScan Hermes system contains the most advanced technologies currently available in the field of machine vision, integrated with highly reliable and high quality engineering methods at the level of the semiconductor and digital printing industries, which are the specialty of our parent company. IDEA Machine Development Design and Production Ltd.

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IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

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