Small-Scale Incubator Microscope Examines Cells in Time Lapse

Biologists and doctors rely heavily on incubators and microscopes. Now researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT in St. Ingbert have come up with a solution that combines the functions of both these tools in a compact and extremely small-scale system said to be no bigger than a soda can and costing around 30 times less than buying an incubator and a microscope separately.

Displayed for the first time at MEDTEC (Stuttgart June 3-5), the system can be used for time lapse observation of cell cultures as well as to gather fluorescent images at different wavelengths. It includes a small-scale incubation chamber and control electronics to ensure defined cell culture parameters. Cells grow on the floor of the miniaturised incubation chamber on a thin, replaceable glass plate and are supplied with a constant stream of nutrients. The only parameters that need to be kept constant within the incubator are the temperature and the nutrient supply flow rate.

Prototype versions are already in use in a variety of research projects. “The system is stable and can be used for time-lapse observation spanning several weeks,” says Dr. Thomas Velten, head of the Biomedical Microsystems department. The device continuously gathers data and saves them to a computer. Images can be accessed at any time and analysed using the appropriate image processing software.

“Our customers get a biomedical analysis tool of the highest quality – well priced, space-saving and tailored to their needs. The incubator microscope is suited to a wide variety of applications, for instance examining the reaction of cells to nanoparticles or toxic agents in the environment. Another current application is stem cell research,” Velten added.