Project R-16822

AutoSCALE – Robotized platform for automated "48/7" ultrasensitive optical imaging across scales (Research)

The AutoSCALE research infrastructure is an advanced, fully automated confocal microscopy platform, designed to revolutionize biological imaging. Standard confocal microscopy is extremely popular for its versatility in 3D and real-time imaging. Recent technical advances allow imaging at improved depth and resolution, reaching single-molecule sensitivity or capturing ultrastructural dynamics. However, these modalities are reserved for expert research groups and require labor intensive manual operation. The proposed new infrastructure addresses that limitation by automating the entire workflow, from sample handling to data acquisition and analysis, for even the most complex and demanding experiments. The acquisition of this platform dramatically increases research efficiency and competitiveness. It introduces a novel, superfast, and supersharp imaging modality for live systems, enabling researchers to conduct cutting-edge experiments around the clock with minimal manual intervention. This not only solves the issue of microscope overbooking at the Advanced Optical Microscopy Centre but also allows for a new level of high-throughput, advanced research. By making these sophisticated imaging techniques more accessible and efficient, the infrastructure will significantly advance the fields of molecular biophysics, neuroscience, biosensor engineering, biomaterials, environmental biology, toxicology, and human physiology at UHasselt.

01 May 2026 - 30 April 2030