ZEISS supports the transition of spatial biology to clinical research

The newly optimized slide scanner "Axioscan 7" is the central component of a novel analytical workflow solution portfolio – spanning from sample staining to result reports – tailored to spatial biology applications in clinical research environments.

Spatial biology describes a highly active area of research which enables in-depth characterization of cellular interactions in their native tissue environment and has significantly fueled our understanding of various diseases and areas of therapy, especially in immuno-oncology. With the transition of this highly promising technology from basic research towards routine clinical application, the demands have significantly increased. Scientists in contract research organizations (CROs), the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology as well as other related high-throughput laboratories are now facing new challenges when applying spatial biology to support drug development in biomarker discovery, translational research, and clinical trial monitoring. Existing methods are complicated, difficult to scale, and oftentimes do not provide data of sufficient quality or reproducibility to support their work.

"ZEISS has long-standing expertise in providing robust and high-quality solutions for demanding research environments,” says Dr. Michael Albiez, Head of ZEISS Research Microscopy Solutions. “We are now providing an end-to-end workflow to bring this quality to high-throughput applications. Automation, standardization, ease-of-use, and seamless integration of AI-powered image analysis enable spatial biology at scale."

Automated scanning of up to 100 slides in a single run
ZEISS Axioscan 7 spatial biology is newly optimized for multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) imaging across large cohorts of samples. It allows up to eight fluorescence-stained biomarkers to be studied at the same time and can fully automatically scan up to 100 samples in a single run, significantly enhancing research throughput. A carefully coordinated selection of hardware and software solutions contributes to superior reproducibility of the images and data for longitudinal and multi-site studies.




mIF staining reagents
The OmniVUE™ reagents from our partner Ultivue leverage advanced DNA-based amplification technology designed for high specificity and dynamic range, which can be optimally recorded with the ZEISS Axioscan 7 spatial biology. Ultivue offers ready-to-use validated assays paired with co-optimized analysis algorithms, eliminating the need for assay development and providing instructive data as much as three times faster than competing technologies. The improved instrument and workflow are fully compatible with a broad range of assays, including various mIF reagents, standard IHC, and H&E. Samples stained with different assays can easily be imaged automatically in the same batch.

Services for advanced lab automation
The new spatial biology workflow improves consistency and operational efficiency through an intuitive workflow manager software. Customization services are available to adapt the workflow to individual laboratory processes and to support integration with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS).

AI-powered scanning and image analysis routines can be fully automated, documented, and controlled to meet lab-specific requirements, reducing the need for manual steps and supporting increased productivity and reproducibility. This enables spatial biology assays to be implemented as part of routine applications, even at high volumes ranging from hundreds to thousands of samples per day.

www.zeiss.com