One out of seven couples in Europe suffer from subfertility problems. Assisted reproduction including in vitro fertilization (IVF) has overcome many of the underlying infertility causes. IVF involves crossing sperm with isolated eggs to generate an embryo in vitro. Typically, 5-10 embryos are produced per cycle, and 1 or 2 will be then transferred to...
The goal of FLASH (FLuorescence Analysis Speedup to extremely High rates) project is to develop a new detection system that combines single-photon sensitivity, picosecond temporal resolution, and unprecedented high throughput to acquire time-resolved fluorescence images. A similar system holds great promise to have a revolutionary impact on several fields of biology and medicine. For example,...
MiniRhizotron (MR) imaging systems are key instruments to study the hidden half of plants and ecosystems, i.e. roots, mycorrhiza and their interactions with pathogens, fauna etc. in the rhizosphere. MR systems allow taking repeated images of roots etc. growing in soil (at specific depths) at the interface with transparent MR tubes; time between imaging must...
The overall goal of PRINTBIO is to “domesticate” and to 3D print the electricity-producing bacteria from the genus Geobacter to convert this strain in à-la-carte bioelectrochemical biosensor using graphene-based screen printed electrode as electrochemical platform. Classical microbial biosensors require to engineer bacteria with an external module which contain the reporter protein responsible of the output...
The VISIR technology will create a new class of solid-state imagers by monolithically integrating an innovative double diode structure, based on a GaAs/Ge heterostructure, with a CMOS readout/imaging circuit. This combination will be capable of imaging over the spectral range from 400 to 1600 nm, covering the visible (VIS) and most of the short wavelengths...
Ion pollution in water causes a wide range of environmental and health problems across the world, including throughout Europe. The extent of the problem is growing, and there is, therefore, an urgent need to develop practical strategies to mitigate this pollution. This project will the latest advances in nanotechnology, to develop a new system to...
We live in the information age where we rely on the creation, detection, and distribution of short light pulses forming the Internet. The demand for high data throughput has pushed the speed of laser modulators and detectors close to the 1 ps time limit. However, to reach these speeds, current telecom detectors require at least...
The ALL project is centred on bringing ground breaking adaptive liquid crystal lenses recently developed by the UPM to a state of maturity by which the technology can be transferred from the academic to an industrial environment for further development. The technology developed by the UPM, patent pending, is based on generating high performing lenses, with unprecedented tuning...
Air quality directly impacts our health and the health of the planet, yet it remains a matter of global and individual concern. Today, 91% of the world’s population live where atmospheric pollution reaches harmful levels and the average global temperature is on the rise, changing the climate in yet unknown ways. Cities are at the...
Optical sensing is a vast and rapidly expanding field, demanding future applications require revolutionary sensors with high detection efficiency, high time resolution, spectral resolution, and statistical analysis of light. There are however no detectors currently available offering all these features simultaneously. In INSPECT we will combine integrated photonics with superconducting detector technology to realise a...
Displays components consume the most power in electronic devices such as smartphones. Portable devices usually convert electricity into light to show images and videos, which spends much energy. Alternatively, reflective-type displays in e-book readers consume little power but cannot provide colourful images nor fast frame rates to reproduce videos. Standard technologies cannot meet the requirements for virtual reality...
The goal of this project is to develop an innovative detector – called GEMTEQ – for microdosimetry. Microdosimetry is the study of the temporal and spatial distributions of absorbed energy in biological matter and is crucial for the understanding of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of radiation on human tissue, for example of a carbon ion beam...
The present project aims to develop a wood disease detection sensor based on a bio-mimetic principle: repeatedly hitting the tree and listening. Animals such as the Aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis use their long, thin finger to constantly hit the surface of the trunks. At the same time, their extremely sensitive ear allows them to differentiate and locate those areas...
LIDAR is a distance and speed measurement apparatus using reflection characteristics of an emitted light. A laser emits a brief coherent light pulse at a defined frequency. A photodetector measures the reflected light. The time between emitted and detected light allows to compute the distance from the target. Frequency shift in the reflected light also...
The development of IoT requires sensors with a significant autonomy. Among them, cameras play a major role for many applications. Today some battery-powered cameras offer at the best several weeks/months of autonomy. The goal of our project is to design and manufacture a first prototype of a fully self-powered camera. By eliminating the need for...
The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is unique in its atomic resolution. The objective of the research is to develop an STM technique that will provide an NMR signal for each atom that the STM observe. This is possible using the hyperfine coupling between an electron which will be injected into the molecule and the nearby...
This project is about a new and innovative screening technology called “iSLICE” (immuno Spot Layer Imaging of Cell Excretions) developed by InterFluidics at the Medical Cell BioPhysics group (MCBP) at the University of Twente and applies chip array and 3D-imaging technology. In iSLICE, a relevant panel of different secreted molecules will be detected as cytokines, interleukins, endocrines,...
Macular pigment is a yellowish pigment found at the central part of the retina of the human eye. It is believed to have two distinct roles: it protects the photoreceptors from photochemical damage by blocking high energy blue light, and it acts as an anti-oxidant, dealing with the harmful free radicals in the retina. It consists of three...
Positron emission tomography (PET) is used to non-invasively visualise and quantify cellular function and molecular processes in vivo. This enables better clinical decision making and health outcomes. PET is already used in clinical routine, for example in the treatment of cancer. One of the crucial performance parameters of a PET system is its sensitivity. This...
The socio-economic impact of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in Europe is around €175B annually. There is no cure today but pharmaceutical companies invest heavily in developing new drugs. However, each newly developed drug has to be assessed through a series of clinical trials. This demands major resources in the lifecycle of a new drug. Within the...
