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.

Endlich wieder Messe live! Endlich wieder Hightech-Medizintechnik in Düsseldorf. Corona hat deutlich gezeigt, wie wichtig Mikro- und Nanotechnik sind, um Innovationen, z.B. für Medikamenten- und Impfstoffentwicklung oder günstige und schnell skalierbare Diagnosemethoden voranzutreiben. Der IVAM-Gemeinschaftstand ist auf der COMPAMED in diesem Jahr in Halle 13 zu finden und zeigt dort smarte, miniaturisierte Lösungen für Diagnostik und Therapie, hochpräzise Fertigungsverfahren und funktionale Materialien.

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.

Analogous to the rising and falling incidences, many offices have been filling and emptying at regular intervals since last year. Some remain completely empty. Covid-19 has been making the world more digital. Ideas that have been in the drawer for a long time have now been and are being implemented in many places. Inhibitions about new technologies and working methods are being overcome. On the other hand, we are tired of the many web conferences and would like to have some exchange of ideas in the office kitchenette. Will we fall back into the old patterns after Corona?

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.

The pandemic is increasingly becoming a race: a neck-and-neck race between research, development and production of drugs and vaccines on the one hand and mutations on the other. Microfluidics can make all the difference in this race, because microfluidic components accelerate the speed of development and Lab-on-a-chip and chemical microreactors make mobile rapid tests possible and accelerate vaccine development.

Dr. Albert Hasper is CEO of PHIX B.V., a Dutch-based company, leading in assembling Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) and electronics into a single package, both for prototyping and customized full-scale production runs. On the occasion of the kick-off of the IVAM Focus Group Photonics, we talked to Albert Hasper, who will act as the future chairperson of the group, about the current challenges of the European photonics industry.

We are at the eve of major changes in society and economy: Quantum Technologies will have a leapfrog impact on almost all industries, healthcare, life-sciences, banking, logistics, communications, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, military, and public safety. This listing is far from being complete. The issue is not if but by when commercially meaningful applications, products and new services will become available.

Around 1.7 million people in Germany currently suffer from dementia. To provide them and their relatives with sustainable support and relieve caregivers in the long term, we are working with high-tech companies in the ZIM-network ‘KMU4DEMENTIA’ on innovative products such as technical assistance systems and software-based concepts. One example is the correct interpretation of patients' state of mind with the help of artificial intelligence.