Artificial Intelligence Based Framework to Quantify the Cardiomyocyte Structural Integrity in Heart Slices

Purpose Drug induced cardiac toxicity is a disruption of the functionality of cardiomyocytes which is highly correlated to the organization of the subcellular structures. We can analyze cellular structures by utilizing microscopy imaging data. However, conventional image analysis methods might miss structural deteriorations that are difficult to perceive. Here, we propose an image-based deep learning pipeline for the automated quantification of drug induced structural deteriorations using a 3D heart slice culture model. Methods In our deep learning pipeline, we quantify the induced structural deterioration from three anticancer drugs (doxorubicin, sunitinib, and herceptin) with known adverse cardiac effects. The proposed deep learning framework is composed of three convolutional neural networks that process three different image sizes. The results of the three networks are combined to produce a classification map that shows the locations of the structural deteriorations in the input cardiac image. Results The result of our technique is the capability of producing classification maps that accurately detect drug induced structural deterioration on the pixel level. Conclusion This technology could be widely applied to perform unbiased quantification of the structural effect of the cardiotoxins on heart slices.