nVasive: Unraveling the Enigma of Metastasis

Metastasis is a complex non-linear cascade of events regulated by various cellular mechanisms through overlapping mechanisms. The complexity of this process has resulted in our limited understanding of this phenomenon, underscoring the importance to investigate and comprehend processes governing tumor invasion. To this end, we propose the development of a next-generation TOC system, called nVasive, that will enable us to model metastasis and tumor invasion. The new biochip will grow microtumors for several weeks and allow the cancer cells to detach and migrate from the initial primary microtumor location and invade into a secondary chamber. With nVasive, each microtumor will have a predefined location within the biochip, allowing us to precisely track cellular invasion and monitor variations among samples. This enables automated imaging, data collection, and interpretation, that is particularly beneficial for high-throughput datasets. The nVasive biochip will be utilized in extended assessments over several weeks, as invasion and metastatic behavior analysis occur over longer time periods. The goal of the current proposal is to further develop nVasive, and to demonstrate technical feasibility, pinpoint critical technical hurdles, establish key performance indicators that predict metastasis, assess commercial viability, and outline a plan for commercialization. nVasive will enable investigations into the metastatic behavior, cell motility, and tumor invasion of metastatic and non-metastatic patient-derived tumor samples at a cellular level. In phase I, we will perform preliminary terrestrial experiments to validate the functionality of the automated metastasis-on-a-chip system and integrate it into our on-orbit implementation partner automation systems, PAUL and CubeLab, creating a functional prototype ready for launch. Ultimately, in phase II, we will develop and produce the first clinical diagnostic tool for patient specific metastasis prediction.