At the 2025 Safety Pharmacology Society Conference, Lumencor’s Dr. Nick Radio presents a comparative study using the Volta optical platform to evaluate cardiac safety in 2D versus 3D cardiomyocyte models. The research explores how transitioning from traditional 2D monolayers to 3D cardiospheroids can improve physiological relevance and predictive accuracy in assessing proarrhythmic risk. Using voltage-sensitive dyes and high-speed optical detection, the Volta Scanner enables precise, high-throughput quantification of action potential duration (APD90) across multiple well formats.

The results demonstrate that 3D cardiospheroids provide higher sensitivity in detecting intermediate-risk compounds while maintaining selectivity for low-risk drugs, outperforming 2D models in predictive power. These findings underscore the value of 3D cardiac models for next-generation safety pharmacology workflows and highlight Lumencor’s commitment to advancing optical imaging tools that bridge translational research and clinical relevance.

“These results align with the FDA’s Modernization Act 3 initiative by demonstrating how advanced, human-relevant in vitro models—such as 3D cardiospheroids—can improve the predictive accuracy of preclinical safety testing. Lumencor’s optical imaging technologies help enable this transition away from traditional animal-based methods toward more translational and clinically relevant approaches.”