Study on Robotic Cell Culture Systems for Autonomous Cultivation of Fibroblast Cells

Fibrosis is a key factor in diseases such as interstitial pneumonia and cirrhosis. Conventional approaches in cell therapy, which involves transplanting living cells into patients, are able to address these conditions. However, cell cultivation involves numerous intricate procedures. Given the demands for a substantial quantity of cells in the therapy, manual cultivation has its limitations. Furthermore, removing cells from a CO2 incubator during culturing can cause damage to the cells, leading to reduced cell viability. To improve the efficacy of cell therapy, it is crucial to cultivate cells with minimal damage. The purpose of this study is to develop a robotic cell culture system that enables the automatic cultivation of fibroblast cells in large quantities for demands of cell therapy, in an environment similar to that of a CO2 incubator and allows to monitor the culture environment. The system enables observation of cells under a microscope without altering the culture conditions and automates the medium exchange process. To confirm the feasibility of the system, we conducted the basic experiment set comparing the developed system to manual cultivation of fibroblast cells. The results showed the developed system improved the fibroblast viability and proliferation rate compared with manual cultivation. In conclusion, we confirmed the feasibility of the developed robotic cell culture system in its capability for cultivating fibroblasts with an efficiency equivalent to or greater than conventional manual cultivation.