French Research Facility ORGAPRED Acquires Hamamatsu CYTOQUBE for Advanced Cancer Research
The French research facility ORGAPRED has selected the CYTOQUBE high-throughput 3D imaging system from Hamamatsu Photonics France for its work with Patient-Derived Tumor Organoids (PDTOs). The system is intended for use in personalized oncology drug screening and therapeutic discovery. The acquisition followed a multi-year collaboration and a formal tender process concluded in late 2025.
Parties Involved
- ORGAPRED: A France-based core facility specializing in Patient-Derived Tumor Organoid (PDTO) research. The facility produces three-dimensional tissue cultures, known as tumoroids or PDTOs, from patient tumor samples to support personalized medicine and oncology research.
- Hamamatsu Photonics France: The regional division of the Japanese optoelectronics company, provider of the CYTOQUBE imaging system.
The CYTOQUBE System
The CYTOQUBE is a high-throughput 3D imaging system. According to the provided sources, its technical capabilities include:
- Performing 3-color 3D analysis in less than 30 minutes.
- Operating independently of microplate format, compatible with 96, 384, or 1536 wells.
- Enabling analysis of tumoroids in three dimensions across entire plates.
- Providing automated tumoroid segmentation and data visualization.
During an on-site evaluation, the system demonstrated intuitive operation, simplified protocol creation, automated tumoroid segmentation, and clear data visualization.
Intended Application and Research Context
ORGAPRED's research workflow involves generating tumoroids from patient samples, culturing them for several weeks, and distributing them into 384-well plates for drug testing. The CYTOQUBE system will be used to perform rapid 3D multi-color imaging to assess PDTO viability and cell death, thereby evaluating treatment response.
Dr. Romane Florent, Research Engineer at ORGAPRED, stated:
"With CYTOQUBE, we can analyze tumoroids in three dimensions across entire plates, much faster than with conventional imaging approaches. This allows us to compare drug responses more efficiently, to support personalized oncology research, and to accelerate the identification of new effective therapeutic strategies."
Some sources note that conventional confocal microscopy workflows may require more time due to multi z-stack acquisition.
Collaboration and Acquisition Timeline
The relationship between the two organizations began in 2021 and progressed through scientific exchanges, conferences, and technical evaluations.
- March 2025: An on-site system evaluation was conducted at ORGAPRED, which supported a subsequent funding application.
- December 2025: A public tender process was completed, and the contract was awarded to Hamamatsu Photonics France for the CYTOQUBE system.