Diagnostic systems

Handy systems for on-the-spot analysis of blood or urine samples enable a quick diagnosis and thus a more targeted selection of drugs – without the detour via a medical laboratory. Especially with drastic disease processes such as sepsis or in connection with dangerous multidrug-resistant germs, this time gain plays a crucial role.

Fraunhofer IPM is developing fully integrated functional models of devices for use at the point of care and, together with partners from the life science industry, is evaluating the applicability of new concepts for everyday clinical practice. One focus is on the highly sensitive real-time readout of biochemical reactions. The overall systems usually consist of optical, electronic, and fluidic components. Specific software tools for system control and data evaluation are part of the development.

Prototypes of various »lab-on-a-chip« readers were developed in cooperation with industrial companies. In cooperation with companies, several prototypes and small series for point-of-care systems were developed. Applications include both the processing and reading of immunoassays as well as molecular biological DNA detection