Artificial Intelligence in Digital Holographic Imaging

23Automatic Quantification of Drug‐treated Cardiomyocytes with DHM

23.1 Introduction

There is a high demand for innovative drug‐discovery technologies. The past decade has seen a great expansion of label‐free imaging platforms and methods in various stages of the drug discovery process including target engagement determination and drug safety assessments. Moreover, with the advent of human‐induced pluripotent stem cell (HiPSC) technology, substantial attempts have been made to use HiPSCs to screen for new drugs and to test candidate drugs for toxicity. In particular, HiPSC‐derived CMs can help us elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias in patients. They can also serve as robust platforms for developing new drugs for clinical therapy. Therefore, it is highly relevant to develop label‐free imaging systems capable of monitoring the effects of drug candidates on HiPSC‐derived cells.

DHM can provide quantitative imaging of cell structures and dynamics in a noninvasive manner. This is of tremendous importance since it can enable us to accurately visualize live cells without disturbing them as drug‐mediated cellular effects are assessed. The unique capability of DHM to visualize live cells without the need for scanning or contrast agents is particularly well suited for label‐free, high‐content screening [1–3]. Therefore, invaluable information regarding the morphology (contraction–relaxation) and dynamics of the quantitative redistribution of materials ...