Press Briefings

From patient-friendly cancer treatment to discrete yet efficient remedy for incontinence; miniaturized, bio-compatible micropumps offer great innovation potential for modern medical technology. Fraunhofer EMFT presents new components in its portfolio on the Compamed.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT have beaten their own record; their latest MEMS micropump chip now measures mere 3.5 mm side length.

AutoKonf, a project funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, unveils innovative E/E architecture for highly automated vehicles.

In the ViroSens project, researchers from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Regensburg and Sulzbach are working together with industrial partners on a novel analytical method to make the potency testing of vaccines more efficient and cost-effective. The method combines electrochemical sensor technology and biotechnology and, for the first time, enables a completely automated analysis of the infection status of test cells.

Data security and protection against manipulation of electronic systems are becoming increasingly important in the digital age. The tamper-protection foil developed jointly by the Fraunhofer Institutes EMFT, AISEC and IMS already implements system security at the system level.

The reliability of connectors and electrical interconnection technologies are essential for many industrial applications, e.g. in the automotive industry and in the networked production (keyword industry 4.0). Researchers at Fraunhofer EMFT have developed an intelligent connector in cooperation with industrial partners. It monitors the quality of the plug connection by means of miniaturized sensor systems and can thus detect impending failures.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Edwards, the leading developer and manufacturer of sophisticated vacuum, abatement and subfab system solutions and services for the semiconductor industry, are launching a cooperation within Munich-based high performance center "Secure Connected Systems" (www.svs.bayern.de). The goal of the cooperation is to create an advanced performance characterization setup for predictive maintenance of subfab equipment as a reference for Industry 4.0 applications.

Incontinence is among the most common diseases – approximately 8 million people suffer from it in Germany alone. Together with DUALIS MedTech GmbH, the Fraunhofer EMFT is working on a new artificial sphincter technology, which allows a combination of diagnostics and therapy (theranostics).

Particulate matter harms the heart and lungs. In the future, a smartphone with an inbuilt gas sensor could be used to warn of heavy exposure. To help the sensor respond quickly and provide accurate measurements, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed a powerful micro diaphragm pump for delivering ambient air.

To reinforce the position of Europe’s semiconductor and electronics industry within global competition, eleven institutes within the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics have, together with two institutes within the Leibniz Association, come up with a concept for a cross-location research factory for microelectronics and nanoelectronics. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing support with the necessary investment. On April 6, 2017, Education Minister Professor Johanna Wanka handed over the grant approvals – 280 million euros for Fraunhofer and 70 million euros for Leibniz.