Every year, imec connects Flemish companies and policy makers at its flagship event ITF Flanders, showcasing imec's unique open innovation model to leverage profound impact in application domains as diverse as mobility, connected energy systems, robotics, AI and health.

The most recent edition on 22 May featured Prof. Patrik Verstreken (Scientific Director at the Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB-KU Leuven). Together with Veerle Reumers (Head of Health Strategy and Portfolio, imec USA) and Sneha (Program Manager, Liquid Sensing Technologies, imec the Netherlands), he gave an exciting and inspiring talk entitled “In vitro human organ-on-chip models to identify biomarkers and drug targets for Parkinson´s disease”.

In this trio talk, Patrik, Veerle and Sneha presented their progress in creating advanced in vitro systems that model key aspects of brain (dys)function in a patient-specific manner. These so-called organ-on-chip models offer more physiologically relevant and personalised models of human conditions, while also reducing the need for animal testing. The teams at VIB-KU Leuven (led by Prof. Patrik Verstreken) and imec (led by Dr. Dries Braeken) are combining superior cell biology with sensor technologies to detect electrophysiological and biochemical fingerprints. This allows building a Parkinson-specific atlas of complex phenotypes, as well as AI-mediated stratification of the disease into functional subgroups. These expected outcomes will enable progress in two major challenges in Parkinson’s disease: subgroup-specific biomarker discovery and personalized drug development.

The first results will be published soon. In the next phases, the researchers aim to go much further by employing a more advanced 3D version of the chip, adding organ complexity and enhancing chip performance. “There is a lot more in imec’s toolkit to decipher neuronal microcircuits, including proteins, metabolites and neurotransmitters”, said Sneha.

While the path to personalized therapies may appear intricate and demanding, the team has presented promising first achievements and is determined to overcome current obstacles and leverage imec technology’s potential, to ultimately improve brain health outcomes.

40 years of innovation

To end on a festive note: the event also celebrated the 40th anniversary of imec – that’s 40 years of unrivalled nanotech development and collaborations, with many more to come! Congratulations!