PhysioLens: a novel technology to standardize and democratize respiratory research on lung tissue

由于肺部是受COVID-19影响最严重的器官，世界各地越来越多的科学家，无论是否具有肺病学专业知识，都在寻找使用高效、生物学相关和具有成本效益的方法研究肺组织的方法。尽管这是一个巨大的工程挑战，但加拿大一家专门从事呼吸设备的公司SCIREQ正在迎接挑战。该公司正在研发一种名为physioLens的新技术，目前已进入研发的最后阶段，它将使任何科学家都能轻而易举地对分离的肺组织进行实验研究。SCIREQ目前正与拉瓦尔大学教授、肺生理学专家Ynuk bosss<s:1>博士的团队合作，以：1-优化、标准化和自动化程序；进行验证研究，以确认技术的有用性；3 .开发新系统，提高物理透镜的通用性和适用性。在实现商业化前的最后调整的同时，该项目还将扩展physioLens的功能，提供备受追捧的功能，这些功能可能会成为呼吸研究领域真正的游戏规则改变者。这项新技术将提供一种前所未有的手段，以准确和可重复的方式研究肺组织，加快进展，并允许在不同实验室获得的结果之间进行比较。在短期内，对于任何寻求一种有效的、可获得的方法来研究肺组织的科学家来说，physioLens是必不可少的。从长远来看，它可能会带来具有重大影响的突破，包括通过加速针对COVID-19的研究和药物研发，有可能改善患者的护理和挽救生命。此外，它还将促进一家加拿大公司的发展，加强学术界和私营部门之间的联系，培训高素质人才，使加拿大肺生理学家保持在各自领域的领先地位，并为加拿大经济从疫情中复苏做出贡献。

Since the lung is the organ most affected by COVID-19, an increasing number of scientists across the world, with or without specialized knowledge in pulmonology, are searching for means to study the lung tissue using an efficient, biologically-relevant and cost-effective approach. Although this represents a huge engineering challenge, SCIREQ, a Canadian company specialized in respiratory equipment, is rising to the challenge. It is fabricating a new technology, called the physioLens, that is now in the final stages of development and that will enable any scientist to readily undertake experimental studies on isolated lung tissue. SCIREQ is now working with the team of Dr Ynuk Bossé, professor at Laval University and experts in lung physiology, to: 1- optimize, standardize and automate the procedures; 2- undertake validation studies to confirm the usefulness of the technology; and 3- develop new systems to increase the physioLens' versatility and applicability.While enabling the final adjustments before commercialization, this project will also extend the physioLens' capabilities with highly sought-after features that can turn out to be real game changers in respiratory research. This new technology will offer an unprecedented means to study lung tissue in an accurate and reproducible fashion, expediting progress and allowing comparisons between results obtained in different laboratories.In the short term, the physioLens is essential for any scientist seeking a validated and accessible means to study lung tissue. In the long term, it may enable breakthroughs with significant impacts, including the potential to improve patients' care and save lives by accelerating research and drug discovery on COVID-19. Additionally, it will promote a Canadian company, strengthen the link between the academic and private sectors, train highly qualified personnel, keep Canadian lung physiologists at the leading-edge of their field, and contribute to Canada's economic recovery from the pandemic.