Deep Learning‐Powered Scalable Cancer Organ Chip for Cancer Precision Medicine

Functional precision oncology complements genomic approaches by directly testing treatment options on patient-derived models. However, existing platformssuch as patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and patient-derived organoids (PDOs), face major barriers in clinical use due to technical challenges, including limited standardization, high costs, long assay times, scalability constraints, and incomplete recapitulation of the patient tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we present a scalable, low-cost Organ Chip (OC) platform fabricated entirely from thermoplastics via injection molding. Leveraging a patented channel geometry and surface treatment, the device achieves barrier-free hydrogel confinement through capillary pinning without porous membranes, micropillars, or other barrier structures. This automation-compatible platform supports tissue-specific extracellular matrices and co-culture through versatile perfusion modes, with robust imaging compatibility. We demonstrate its feasibility for drug sensitivity testing using multiple cell lines and patient-derived primary cells, with imaging-based phenotypic profiling for accurate quantification of drug responses, closely aligning with clinical outcomes. Additionally, we integrated a deep learning-based image translation model that predicts fluorescence staining from bright-field images. This approach enables longitudinal, label-free phenotypic analysis with higher sensitivity than conventional endpoint staining. Together, this integrated cancer OC system overcomes key technical challenges and offers a promising framework for functional precision oncology through high-throughput, patient-relevant drug testing.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Science
Published
2026-02-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202516660
Primary Topic
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Deep Learning‐Powered Scalable Cancer Organ Chip for Cancer Precision Medicine

Bing Wei, Beibei Xu, P. Golland, Paige Gilbride et al.
Advanced Science
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
article

Deep Learning‐Powered Scalable Cancer Organ Chip for Cancer Precision Medicine

Bing Wei, Beibei Xu, P. Golland, Paige Gilbride, Bo Wang, Y S Yuan, Jenna McCormack, Haiqing Bai, Xin Xie, Yanyan Liu, Shuyang Wang, Thomas Marshall, Gauri Kulkarni, Yacong Sun, Hardeep Singh, Fei Ma, Jingzhe Ma, Zhiyong Xie, Ji Hye Seo, Yu Shrike Zhang, Xiaohua Qian, Lin Zhou, Alyssa Fanelli, XuHai Huang
article en

Abstract

Functional precision oncology complements genomic approaches by directly testing treatment options on patient-derived models. However, existing platformssuch as patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and patient-derived organoids (PDOs), face major barriers in clinical use due to technical challenges, including limited standardization, high costs, long assay times, scalability constraints, and incomplete recapitulation of the patient tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we present a scalable, low-cost Organ Chip (OC) platform fabricated entirely from thermoplastics via injection molding. Leveraging a patented channel geometry and surface treatment, the device achieves barrier-free hydrogel confinement through capillary pinning without porous membranes, micropillars, or other barrier structures. This automation-compatible platform supports tissue-specific extracellular matrices and co-culture through versatile perfusion modes, with robust imaging compatibility. We demonstrate its feasibility for drug sensitivity testing using multiple cell lines and patient-derived primary cells, with imaging-based phenotypic profiling for accurate quantification of drug responses, closely aligning with clinical outcomes. Additionally, we integrated a deep learning-based image translation model that predicts fluorescence staining from bright-field images. This approach enables longitudinal, label-free phenotypic analysis with higher sensitivity than conventional endpoint staining. Together, this integrated cancer OC system overcomes key technical challenges and offers a promising framework for functional precision oncology through high-throughput, patient-relevant drug testing.

Advanced Science
Brigham and Women's Hospital (US), Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University (CN), Harvard University (US), Fudan University (CN), Henan Institute of Education (CN), Henan Academy of Sciences (CN), Henan University of Engineering (CN), Henan Cancer Hospital (CN), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 68%
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
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