Warwick secures Knowledge Transfer Partnership for AI assisted microscopy
University of Warwick researchers have secured a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Intelligent Imaging Innovations (3i) to roll out a new AI-guided microscopy platform.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are unique collaborative partnerships between businesses and universities to create positive impact and drive innovation. They are awarded to solve specific challenges and enable the transfer of knowledge, technology, and expertise from the academic partner to the business or organisation.
This new partnership between Warwick and 3i is looking to significantly automate how researchers use microscopes to accelerate fundamental research and lay the groundwork for high-throughput drug discovery by ‘transferring’ the Warwick-developed AI assisted microscopy tool and knowledge to 3i.
Dr Scott Brooks, KTP Associate, University of Warwick, who will be delivering this project and developed the prototype AI tool said: “By working with 3i, we can combine Warwick’s expertise in AI-driven microscopy with their industry-leading hardware and software platforms, ensuring that cutting-edge academic innovation makes its way into the hands of researchers. This partnership will help to democratise access to advanced imaging workflows, reduce the technical barriers to entry, and accelerate discoveries in fields from basic biology to drug development.”
The AI tool in question, CelFDrive, has been developed at Warwick and is designed to work with the state-of-the-art high-resolution fluorescent imaging such as the Lattice LightSheet or Marianas Spinning Disk Confocal. These microscopes take 3D, high-resolution images of individual cells - offering unparalleled looks at cellular biology. However, capturing these datasets is time-consuming, and researchers are rarely interested in imaging every single cell within a sample, only those undergoing specific biological processes.
For example, a researcher may be interested in whether a new drug changes the rate of cell division. However, only one cell in every one hundred may be entering cell division at any one time. Researchers lose substantial amounts of time manually finding those cells and need the technical expertise to identify them by eye in the first place. This is where CelFDrive steps in, using AI to automate the detection of these ‘rare events.’
Professor Till Bretschneider, Academic Supervisor, Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick said: “AI excels at detecting subtle cellular details that often elude human observers. Trained on expert-classified cell images, CelFDrive’s AI engine rapidly screens hundreds of cells in low-resolution mode, eliminating the need for manual microscope steering and the microscopist assessing each cell individually at high resolution.
“Once target cells are identified and their coordinates logged, the system switches to self-drive mode, recording high-resolution 3D time-lapse movies automatically. This approach not only dramatically accelerates detection but also minimises light exposure, preserving cell viability during screening.”
Professor Andrew McAinsh, Academic Lead, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick said: “We are thrilled about the potential of CelFDrive to accelerate discovery science. In our own cell biology research, it is already proving transformative, enabling us to pinpoint cells just before they initiate rare events and capture them with exceptional spatiotemporal resolution. We are equally excited to strengthen our partnership with 3i to expand access to smart microscopy and bring these powerful capabilities to inexperienced users.”
CelFDrive is a powerful tool that addresses a research and medical bottleneck:
- It can increase the speed at which expert microscope users are able to find cells in rare states by a factor of thirty-four, freeing up researcher time.
- It is a democratiser of access, it allows less technical users to skip over manually identifying cells, creating low entry requirements for effective advanced imaging.
- It allows imaging of extremely rare events that may be impossible to spot without AI assistance.
- It reduces data redundancy by only capturing the information rich regions of the sample.
This Knowledge Transfer Partnership will support Warwick and 3i to advance CelFDrive into a mass-deployable tool with increased functionality to be rolled out to users worldwide.
Dr Benjamin Atkinson, Managing Director, Intelligent Imaging Innovations (3i) Ltd said: “We are delighted to be working with the University of Warwick to bring CelFDrive and AI guided microscopy to a wider bioimaging community. 3i provides microscope systems to a diverse range of labs all around the world and we see many opportunities in these labs for smart microscopy to aid research. These tools have the potential to dramatically increase productivity by facilitating faster and more efficient data collection. We have no doubt that this will be extremely beneficial for the microscopy community and biological research in general.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact:
Matt Higgs, PhD | Media & Communications Officer (Press Office)
Email: Matt.Higgs@warwick.ac.uk | Phone: +44(0)7880 175403
About the University of Warwick
Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a world-leading institution known for its commitment to era-defining innovation across research and education. A connected ecosystem of staff, students and alumni, the University fosters transformative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and bold industry partnerships across state-of-the-art facilities in the UK and global satellite hubs. Here, spirited thinkers push boundaries, experiment, and challenge conventions to create a better world.
About 3i
3i is a biotechnology company established in 1995 by a group of scientists whose wide range of research activities includes cell biology, immunology, neuroscience, and computer science. The collective aim is to provide advanced multi-dimensional microscopy platforms that are intuitive to use, modular in design, and meet the evolving needs of investigators in the biological research community. 3i is headquartered in Denver, Colorado (USA) with offices in London, United Kingdom, and Göttingen, Germany.
About Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Since 1975, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) have been helping businesses and organisations innovate for growth. They are unique collaborative partnerships between businesses and universities, colleges, research organisations, and Catapults. KTPs create positive impact and drive innovation. Each KTP addresses a specific challenge and enables the transfer of knowledge, technology, and expertise from the academic partner to the business or organisation. Funded by Innovate UK and the partner business or organisation, the program provides support for a partnership, including the placement of a highly qualified graduate, known as a KTP Associate, within the business for a period of 12-36 months.
22 September 2025