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DHM allows life scientists to see detail that is not possible with other microscopy techniques. this image is of a mouse hippocampal neuron. Image courtesy of PHI


of abnormal cell division (so-called tripolar mitosis with bipolar cytokinesis).’ This breakthrough was enabled by DHM as it allowed Gisselsson and his colleagues to monitor unstained living cells over extended time periods. Conventional microscopy techniques used for this kind of investigation


DHM technology is a one-shot imaging technique


would use fluorescent markers that limit the life of a cell, and it is unknown how such markers affect the natural behaviour of the cells.


The ability to make time-lapsed videos of the cells dividing was also crucial to Gisselsson’s work, and is something not possible with conventional methods. Used as a cell analyser, a DHM instrument can not only be used to view cells, but can also count them, measure them and assess their viability. This is because the images produced by DHM technology have a real physical meaning and can be processed by software to extract the important information. This is not possible with conventional microscopy images. ‘We are currently targeting our products at the cell analyser market,’ says Egelberg. ‘Our competitors are therefore other cell analysers based on technologies such as automated microscopy or flow cytometry. Compared with these technologies ours is cheaper, visual, quantitative and non-invasive.’ While Egelberg admits that DHM also has other applications in areas such as semiconductors, MEMS and nanotechnology, he wants the company to first enter the established market of cell analysers and then, perhaps in the future, look at developing


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products for other markets. ‘At the moment our philosophy is to leave the dead stuff out and concentrate on the living,’ he says. ‘The life-science market is big. It is big enough!’ Swiss company Lyncée Tec has taken a


different approach. It has first concentrated on the materials science market, where DHM technology also has a number of advantages over conventional technologies. ‘Interpreting phase measurements for biological applications is a very complex process and has taken 15 years of development,’ explains Yves Emery, CEO of Lyncée Tec. ‘While we were busy working that out, we developed solutions for the materials science market, which are more straightforward than products for life sciences.’ The company quickly got its first customer in the watch industry where the high-speed and vertical resolution of DHM technology was important. ‘DHM technology is a one-shot imaging technique, which means no scanning and, therefore, high speeds,’ explains Emery. ‘This also makes it immune to vibrations, making the technology ideal for a production environment.’


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Measurements of neuron cells. Image courtesy of Lyncée Tec/ePFL/unIL


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