Ireland's reputation for being at the leading edge of both information technology and biotechnology has been boosted by the unveiling of a working prototype which will benefit global research into BSE and related diseases.
It was developed by a multi-disciplinary team based at UCD and the Veterinary Research Laboratory (VRL) in Abbotstown, Co Dublin, with a key input from BioResearch Ireland, the national biotechnology development agency.
It will not only allow computer-aided analysis of BSE in bovine brain tissue but is expected to facilitate complex analysis of changes in brain morphology associated with other transmissible spongiform diseases. This is likely to include conditions such as CJD and its new variant form (the human equivalent of "mad cow disease"). It is already used to scan for scrapie, a related condition affecting sheep.
The "Computer Eye" BSE analysis system is based on image analysis and robotic technology. It is driven by innovative computer software by the teams at UCD's Department of Zoology, BioResearch Ireland's National Agricultural and Veterinary Biotechnology Centre (NAVBC), also in UCD, and the VRL, which is part of the Department of Agriculture.
The leading BSE expert Dr Mark Rogers, who leads the spongiform encephalopathies research group at UCD and led the teams which worked on the prototype, said it would greatly complement the work of the pathologist in the diagnosis of BSE.
"Mostly importantly, the programme - once trained by an individual pathologist - will identify pathological features using the same criteria as the pathologist."
The analysis system will now undergo further trials. It will be validated by the VRL and immediately extended to analysis of scrapie in sheep brains.
Dr Dara FitzGerald, of the Department of Zoology, who was affiliated to NAVBC for the project, said it was essentially computer vision technology used to view thin tissue sections taken from between the mid-brain and spinal cord. These are samples a pathologist uses to look for features of the disease. With the brain going spongy where BSE occurs, vacuoles are a key indicator.
Other clinical features, he said, could be hard to identify and quantify. In short, the process was very subjective. The computer eye, with 400 degree magnification, had the ability to find a golf ball on a football pitch and in the process attain a lot more reliable information. This improved "statistical probability" when analysing samples.
The technology also facilitates the use of immunofluorescence which identifies, with the use of dyes, a number of proteins which can bind the BSE prion (the disease-causing component).
Its use will include providing numerical analysis for pathologists as they make a final diagnosis. And because it is non-invasive, the system provides "traceability" - each examination is recorded digitally and all analytical results can be easily kept.
Dr FitzGerald said the technology was easily adaptable which would allow research or diagnostic work, for example, on human TB and breast cancer. Its potential was such that they were considering establishing a campus company to maximise its commercial potential.
The development is another product of co-operation between UCD and BioResearch Ireland, according to Dr Pat Frain, of UCD's university industry programme. "It is a particularly interesting development since it is based on multi-disciplinary research involving two technologies which are likely to have the greatest impact on the Irish economy and social development over the next 10 years."
He said biotechnology and information technology were areas in which UCD had demonstrated not only excellence in research but a strong commitment to innovation and technology transfer.
The BSE "Computer Eye" research was part funded by the EU and also included a significant in-put from VRL scientists Mr Eoin Monks and Mr Eddie Weavers.