Our ageing society poses major challenges for medicine, particularly in relation to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, stroke or other age-related diseases. In order to better understand these diseases and develop new therapies, more precise and gentler measurement methods for living nerve cells are needed.
The Ing4Life project is developing novel mini-laboratories on a chip that combine electrical, optical and microfluidic technologies. These enable nerve cells to be observed in real time under realistic conditions, stimulated in a targeted manner and analysed without the need for animal testing.
A particular focus is on Alzheimer's research: by comparing healthy and diseased nerve cells and analyzing their internal balance, the aim is to discover new disease mechanisms and biomarkers. The interdisciplinary project combines engineering, natural sciences and life sciences, thus laying the foundation for future drugs and therapies for age-related diseases.
Further project information will follow.