Objective
In PoCyton, a revolutionary concept for the detection zone of a flow cytometer is proposed. Flow cytometers are fluorescence-based cell counters and as such are indispensable instruments in clinical and biomedical research. Over the last four decades, despite gradual technical improvements in the constituent components, the detection principle has virtually remained unchanged. Fluorescently tagged cells in suspension are made to flow through a narrow focal excitation area and then detected via the fluorescent pulse emitted by them. The narrow focus imposes restrictions on the flow rate and, as a consequence, on feasible sample volumes. Moreover, the alignment of cell-flow, excitation, and detection requires extreme precision. To this end, expensive, bulky components have to be used, preventing substantial miniaturization of flow cytometry. In PoCyton, the detection zone will be enlarged and superimposed with a pseudo-random pattern leading to a temporally extended, distinctly coded signal recorded for each fluorescing cell. In analogy to spread-signal methods, each cell will be reconstructed from the coded signal by correlation techniques. While the precision in spatial cell discrimination outperforms that of conventional flow cytometry only slightly, the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced significantly, resulting in a notable improvement in sensitivity. In addition, the enlargement of the detection zone dramatically mitigates alignment issues. In PoCyton, various implementations and extensions towards multi-colour flow cytometry will be studied experimentally to demonstrate their high sample-throughput and miniaturization (lab-on-a-chip) potential. Ultimately, a wider range of flow cytometry methods will thus be made available for routine use in clinical laboratories and medical point-of-care diagnosis, e.g. for cancer treatment. PoCyton is a multi-disciplinary project primarily involving expertise in optics, microfluidics, micro-systems, and signal processing.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences physical sciences classical mechanics fluid mechanics microfluidics
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies microtechnology lab on a chip
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering signal processing
- social sciences sociology social issues social inequalities
- natural sciences physical sciences optics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2010-StG_20091028
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
80686 Muenchen
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.