Cell Analysis and Early Diagnostics

In an era of aging populations and rising health-care costs, the shift of medical paradigms towards rapid, accurate, early
diagnoses of diseases is inevitable. In addition to further development of ultrasensitive in vitro tests, the focus of attention in both diagnostics and the early drug discovery process is increasingly trained on the cell. The immense complexity of biological processes in disease requires developing enabling tools and technologies capable of rapid, dynamic imaging of high-content information with high spatial and temporal resolution. This enterprise automatically requires crosscutting multidisciplinary teams that can integrate advanced imaging and detection technology, fundamental biological and biochemical knowledge, bioconjugate chemistry, nanotechnology and advanced image processing and data storage. Below I present a short summary of key enabling technologies currently in use or in development, and explore challenges for the future.