Sony, which intends to expand its medical business, released two cell analyzers in June 2012. By taking advantage of the company's expertise in Blu-ray technology, the "Sony feature" is differentiated from other companies' previous products.
The slide show presented by Sony President and CEO Hirai Kazuo at the business meeting briefing held in April 2012. This product belongs to the red dotted line, business in the life sciences field.
Sony's new development is a device called Flow Cytometer that completely analyzes the type and size of cells by optical measurement. This is a specialized instrument widely used in research fields such as blood, immunity, cancer and regenerative medicine.
The flow cytometer grasps the state of the cells by irradiating a laser beam to cells that flow through the fine flow path at high speed, and detecting scattered light and fluorescence emitted from the cells. The principle is similar to the principle of optical disc detection using a laser to read fine pits on a high-speed rotating disc, so Sony believes that its own technical assets can be applied in this field. In 2010, Sony acquired iCyt, a US-based company engaged in cell analyzer business, and began to develop a new generation of models that incorporate the technology of the two companies. The result is the equipment released this time.
Produced using the same equipment as Blu-ray DiscThe "Cell Sorter SH800", which will begin accepting orders in the fall of 2012, uses Sony's laser focusing technology and small-body design technology to achieve a smaller size than the previous product (Figure 1). In addition, improvements have been made to achieve low price and automation of operations, claiming that even a laboratory without a full-time operator can easily import it.
Figure 1: The first product born through technology integration with the acquired iCyt company
In the fall of 2012, the cell analyzer "Cell Sorter SH800" (a) was accepted. A disposable plastic chip is used instead of the original quartz (fixed) chip (b) which is expensive and difficult to clean.
The SH800 features a disposable disposable plastic product for the flow path portion (chip) that flows through the cell. Originally, most of the expensive quartz products were used, and the cleaning after use was also troublesome.
The plastic chip is developed using microfabrication technology developed in the field of Blu-ray Disc (Fig. 1(b)). According to Sony, the manufacturing process is very similar to that of a disc with a layer structure, such as a 1 mm thick molded substrate, and so on. According to Masahiro Oda, Senior Product Director and Director of the Biosciences Division of the Life Sciences Division of the Sony Medical Division, the chip is actually made using the same equipment as the Blu-ray Disc.
There are also models that pursue ultra-high precision.Another cytometer developed by Sony does not require the necessary correction work, and improves the analysis accuracy, reproducibility and processing speed. It is the most advanced model (Figure 2). Gumu Jiyu, senior product director of the Biosciences Division of the Life Sciences Division of the Sony Medical Division, said that the product "is expected to be put into practical use in the near future."
Figure 2: Self-developed second product - a cell analyzer that separates many fluorescent waveforms
(a) is the appearance of the prototype cytometer, (b) is a prism that separates fluorescence of different colors by wavelength, and (c) shows the characteristics of analysis using the cytometer.
In order to detect the fluorescence emitted by many cells, the previous flow cytometer requires the use of optical filters, detectors, and fluorescent pigments that meet the quantitative requirements. It is also necessary to correct the mixed fluorochrome information to separate the individual pigments. .
This time, Sony used the newly developed prism in combination with a photomultiplier tube to achieve automatic separation of fluorochrome information (Fig. 2(b, c)). Specifically, the fluorescent information mixed by the respective colors is separated by a prism, and then the waveform shape of each fluorochrome is measured with high precision by a photomultiplier tube.
In the field of regenerative medicine envisioning the use of these instruments, research activities are becoming more active as technology advances, and "the number of researchers is also increasing rapidly" (Putian). Therefore, Sony intends to take advantage of this momentum to promote the "Sony brand" in the field of regenerative medicine.
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