mechano
biology

Understanding how cancer's physical properties predict metastatic potential and guide treatment decisions

What is mechanobiology?

Understanding Mechanobiology: The Physics of Cancer

Mechanobiology is the science of how cells and tissues sense, generate, and respond to mechanical forces within their environment. Unlike molecular biology focused on genes and proteins, mechanobiology reveals how physical characteristics fundamentally influence disease.

Why mechanics matter in cancer:

Mechanics drive biology

Physical cues determine structure, movement, and communication.

Mechanics predict behaviour

Cells getting softer enables escape and spread.

Mechanics guide treatment

Physical properties provide predictive biomarkers for therapy selection.

Mechanical properties that matter

At the heart of mechanobiology are the physical properties, like stiffness, viscosity, and adhesion that shape the behavior of cells and tissues. These forces are not secondary; they are central to how cancer starts, grows, spreads, and responds to treatment. These properties shape how cancer spreads, resists treatment, and recurs.

Stiffness
Resistance to being deformed

Viscosity (dissipation)
The “fluidity” of cells and tissues

Adhesion
How tightly cells stick to each other and their environment

Clinical impact

Why This Matters for Cancer Care

Physical measurements provide predictive biomarkers that guide specific treatment decisions:

Early Detection - Discern benign from malignant through unique mechanical signatures 
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Metastatic Risk - Softer, more deformable cells indicate higher spread potential, requiring platinum-based drugs instead of taxanes
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Treatment Optimization - Stiff microenvironment barriers signal resistance to drug penetration, requiring radiation to improve checkpoint inhibitor delivery

Key concepts

Nanomechanical Profile: The Cell's Mechanical Fingerprint

A unique suite of measurable mechanical characteristics which defines individual cells and tissue regions at the nanoscale. By taking thousands of measurements across a tumor sample within its microenvironment, Artidis creates a comprehensive profile of all mechanical properties.

Nanomechanical Phenotype: Cancer’s Signature

In cancer, tumor cells often become softer and more deformable than healthy cells, marking higher metastatic potential. This gives clinicians a concrete way to identify tumors based on physical, not just genetic, makeup.

Mechanical Heterogeneity: Tumor Barrier

No tumor is uniform. Within a single tumor the tumor microenvironment (TME) may become stiffer due to matrix remodeling, creating barriers that block treatment penetration.

What makes it unique:

Bedside integration - Purpose-built for clinic, delivers profiling within hours at point of care
Sample preservation - Tissue remains intact for all downstream assays
Push-button automation - No prior expertise required
Microenvironment context - Unlike liquid biopsies measuring isolated cells, captures complete picture of tumor tissue architecture

How artidis works

Measuring Cancer Mechanobiology in Action

Our Approach:

Atomic force-based analysis - Tiny, sensitive probe rapidly maps mechanical properties across tissue samples at nanoscale within the tumor microenvironment
AI-powered ecosystem - Artidisnet analyzes all measurements, providing predictive biomarkers and seamless clinical data integration
Seamless workflow - Results in hours, sample returns to pathology unchanged, treatment guidance instantly available

The Artidis System and all associated components are for investigational use only.
They are not cleared or approved for diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive purposes, nor for guiding patient management, treatment decisions, or therapy selection. All outputs, findings, and services are intended exclusively for research use or clinical investigation in accordance with applicable local regulations.

The information, data, and claims presented on this website are exploratory in nature and intended solely for research purposes. Artidis technology is not cleared or approved for any clinical decision-making.