The Palo Alto
Research Center and The Scripps Research
Institute Partner To Accelerate Discovery
Processes in the Life Sciences
Scripps-PARC Institute for Advanced Biomedical
Sciences unveils new method aimed at early
cancer detection
Palo Alto, Calif.,
April 19, 2004 - The Palo
Alto Research Center (PARC), a subsidiary
of Xerox Corporation, and The Scripps Research
Institute today announced their partnership
to form the Scripps-PARC Institute for Advanced
Biomedical Studies with the intent to accelerate
discovery processes in the life sciences.
The two internationally renowned research
centers, with a combined history of more than
80 years of leading-edge research, are collaborating
to create technologies in biomedical science
that will have groundbreaking scientific and
commercial impact. This announcement coincides
with a paper presented today unveiling the
Scripps-PARC Institute's first breakthrough
- a system for detecting and monitoring cancer
through blood testing at unprecedented speeds,
enabling early diagnosis of cancer and other
conditions.
"This partnership capitalizes on PARC's
expertise in physics, imaging, mathematics,
information sciences and engineering to address
some of the most challenging issues Scripps
Research recognizes in biomedical science,"
said Scripps Research President Richard A.
Lerner, M.D. "The joint endeavor fuses
the expertise of two of the world's most
innovative institutions to create tools
that benefit the broader scientific community
and ultimately may be used in areas such
as drug discovery and diagnostics that
benefit
humanity's health and welfare."
The Fiber Array
Scanning Technology (FAST) cytometer uses
PARC's competencies in lasers,
opto-mechanical engineering, and imaging
to detect cancer cells almost 1000 times
faster than digital microscopy, the current
gold standard. At the earliest stages
of the disease, cancer cells are present
in
a person's bloodstream at extremely low
concentrations (one per million to one
per ten million).
Recognizing these "rare cells" could
be invaluable for patient diagnosis and
monitoring, but their concentration makes
them very difficult
to find and reliably identify. Today,
tagging of rare cells with a fluorescing
agent
enables identification of rare cells;
however, at
least 50 million cells need to be scanned
for statistical relevance.
At present, the FAST cytometer can analyze
such a sample in two minutes compared with
16 to 32 hours required for digital microscopy.
The key to the technology's efficiency is
its wide scanning area. While digital microscopy
scanning has less than a millimeter field
of view in which to acquire images, the FAST
cytometer has a 50 millimeter-wide field of
view. High-speed scanning techniques found
in laser printing enable the high scan rates.
Initially the FAST cytometer will serve as
a pre-screening device. Once probable rare
cells are identified, higher-resolution scanning
can be used to create images a physician or
other qualified expert would review. Cells
can also be relocated for additional characterization
and testing.
The technology has general applicability
for other rare cell-related research
topics such as the detection of fetal
cells in
maternal blood and early detection of
viral-infected cells. "Our goal in creating the FAST
cytometer is to enable identification of rare
cells in the clinic," said Richard Bruce,
director of the Scripps-PARC Institute for
Advanced Biomedical Sciences and manager of
PARC's Computer Science Laboratory. "Because
the FAST cytometer uses simple, robust
technology and enables cost-efficient
operation, we
believe it could make screening for cancer
or other rare cells as routine as an
annual blood test."
About PARC
The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a subsidiary
of Xerox Corporation, conducts pioneering
interdisciplinary research in physical, computational,
and social sciences. Building on its three-decade
tradition of innovation, PARC works with Xerox
and other strategic partners to commercialize
technologies created by its renowned scientists.
As the birthplace of technologies such as
laser printing, Ethernet, the graphical user
interface, and ubiquitous computing, PARC
has an established record of accomplishment
for transforming industries and creating commercial
value. See: www.parc.com
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla,
California, and Palm Beach County, Florida,
is one of the world's largest, private, non-profit
biomedical research organizations. It stands
at the forefront of basic biomedical science
that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental
processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally
recognized for its research into immunology,
molecular and cellular biology, chemistry,
neurosciences, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular
diseases and synthetic vaccine development.
See: www.scripps.edu
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