The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT) has developed a fully automated high-performance microscope with which researchers will be able to study the complex interactions of proteins between cells. In tumor diagnostics, the microscope allows the classification of slightly different types of tumors more precisely and the fine-tuning of therapies accordingly. Key factors for the superior performance of the institute’s new system are high-precision hardware and image-analysis software that is trainable and can be customized to the user’s specific application. Fraunhofer FIT’s IMIKRID microfluidic sensor chip, comprising electrochemical sensors, data processing electronics and a microflow cell, is shown. (Photo: Fraunhofer FIT) The system produces a laser scan of a tissue probe’s surface with a resolution of a few nanometers. In addition, the laser beam can trigger fluorescence effects that give more detailed insights into the morphology and structure of the probe. “The reflected light is used to compose high-resolution images of the probe; our learning, trainable image-analysis software can extract more valuable information from these images than the tools widely used today,” said Harald Mathis, head of Fraunhofer FIT’s department for biomolecular optical systems. In addition, Fraunhofer FIT has announced IMIKRID, a microfluidic diagnostic system that has been designed to improve early diagnosis of cancer and cardiac diseases. IMIKRID is being developed by a group of Fraunhofer institutes led by Fraunhofer FIT. The system implements a novel detection method that can detect markers even at a single-molecule level of concentration. At its core is a microfluidic chip with four independent single-molecule biosensors. The chief applications of IMIKRID are cardiological preventive diagnostics to detect and monitor cardiac diseases and in oncological diagnostics at very early, presymptom stages. A third field is lactate monitoring through sweat analysis, both in infarct prevention and in fitness monitoring for athletes. For more information, visit: www.fit.fraunhofer.de