Innovation/Technology

Established in 1957, the family owned Swiss company FISBA has become a leading global supplier of high precision micro optical components and imaging systems to the medical and industrial markets. FISBA's reputation for quality and performance has grown along with our range of distinctive optical product offerings. FISBA offers clients with custom requirements a development path that extends from R&D and design services to prototype and full production capabilities.

Microfluidic devices take multiple shapes. The applications are diverse, with diagnostics, life sciences, drug delivery, and manufacturing being the main ones. Players performing well in this market are mainly the big companies, not generally expert in microfluidics but IVD systems. Almost 91% of the market (in value) is held by 20 players. COVID-19 has boosted the global microfluidics market from US$9.9 billion in 2019 to US$18.1 billion in 2021 (a growth of 45%). This dynamic can be explained by the widespread adoption of point-of-care (POC) solutions and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies.

Sustainability in applications and industries has been steadily increasing in importance over the last decade, and this growth will only accelerate in the foreseeable future. Sustainable packaging, locomotion, construction, manufacturing, and food, to name a few, is a value in itself for a large portion of consumers in any market segment. Salcon International has been working with TactoTek in Finland since 2015 to change the world of electronic production in a very disruptive way.

Microfluidics got very popular within the last decade and is utilized for a vast number of biological, medical, biophysical, biochemical or pharmaceutical applications. In this field the term “microreactor” is increasingly encountered. What is a microreactor, what is it good for? For instance, when talking about synthesis of nanomaterials, it can refer to the whole microfluidic device, that is the microfluidic chip.

Building a circular economy is one of the biggest aims to achieve sustainability and fight climate change. But what if cycles cannot be closed easily? Then it’s time to apply rougher measures and – literally – smash everything to pieces. Some material cycles can be closed relatively easily, and appropriate systems have been in place for years: Glass, steel, but also certain types of plastics as long as they are homogeneous. But what about the giant amounts of municipal waste containing mixed and often soiled plastics?

Climate change and the increasing shortage of raw materials require urgent adjustments to society‘s way of working and living. Micro- and nanotechnology and technologies based on this, such as microfluidics, photonics or sensor technology, offer enormous potential in the development of solutions to these global problems.

Lunch Break in front of the computer? The best time to look for new trends and innovations! At the Wearables Lunch Talk, IVAM serves up tidbits of news from start-ups, universities, research projects and development departments - all about wearable electronics and smart textiles. IVAM has been dealing with the topic of "wearables" and the challenges that manufacturers face in developing successful, market-ready products for several years. Initially as part of the MSTextiles Forum conference (launched in 2014), and later within the established Focus Group "Wearable Electronics", IVAM is intensifying the dialog between component manufacturers and users.

Für Hersteller von medizinischen Diagnosegeräten und für deren Anwender stellt sich die Frage, wie man Datenschutz und Datenaustausch in Einklang bringen kann. Im Bereich der Medizin geht es oftmals um besonders sensible Daten. Der Beitrag beleuchtet ausschnitthaft, inwiefern datenschutzrechtliche Regelungen in der medizinischen Diagnostik zu beachten sind.

Cancer diagnostics, analysis, sensors and, of course, cartridges-all these are terms that gather around research at Fraunhofer IMM. As one of the pioneers in the use of microfluidics and the associated system technology for handling liquid volumes in the micro- to picoliter range, the so-called lab-on-a-chip technology, the Mainz-based institute has been developing microfluidic systems as well as new analysis methods for analytics and life science applications for more than 20 years.

Der ökonomische Schaden durch marines Biofouling wird auf einen Wert von ca. 200 Milliarden $ jährlich geschätzt, während sich der ökologische Schaden auf eine zusätzliche Emission an Kohlenstoffdioxid von 250 Millionen Tonnen jährlich beläuft. Biofouling ist die unerwünschte Ablagerung von organischem und anorganischem Material auf fest-flüssig Grenzflächen und betrifft viele verschiedene industrielle Zweige, wie z.B. die Medizin, die Lebensmittelindustrie und die marine Industrie. Mikrofluidik kann helfen, Beschichtungen so zu optimieren, dass Biofouling erschwert oder verhindert wird.