​

Conference Registration, Conference Materials Pick-Up, Coffee, Tea and Networking

​

Martyn G Boutelle, Professor of Biomedical Sensors Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Development of Microfluidic based Biosensors for Healthcare Purposes

As a person’s physiological regulation of biomarker molecules is challenged by acute illness, exposure to toxins or even surgery, the concentration these molecules can give important information about their health. Our view is that to monitor such biomarker changes effectively ideally requires moment-by-moment measurement of blood or tissue concentrations. The person acts as their own control allowing acute deterioration to be noticed quickly. If more than one marker can be measured the pattern of changes can be highly informative.

We have been developing a range of sensing and biosensing solutions for the invasive, minimally invasive, and non-invasive monitoring of people in healthcare situations. Microfluidics coupled to novel biosensors provide a valuable means of clinical sampling and robust quantification of measured biomarkers.

I will describe the key challenges in the development and deployment of such integrated microfluidic sensing devices and present recent data from a range of clinical setting including the neonatal intensive care unit, adult surgery, and environmental monitoring.

Levent Yobas, Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

A Point-of-Care Pathogen Detection Using Reagent-Free Nucleic Acid Purification

Rapid diagnosis of infectious pathogens requires technologies that integrate sample preparation, nucleic acid purification, and detection without compromising sensitivity or turnaround time. Yet most point-of-care molecular assays remain constrained by complex reagent workflows and slow purification steps that limit true sample-to-answer operation. In this talk, I present a compact microfluidic system that performs reagent-free electrophoretic purification and colorimetric LAMP detection of MRSA directly from human serum. Central to the platform is a micropillar sieve that employs selectively focus and enrich nucleic acids while removing proteins and serum contaminants under rotating electric fields, without beads, membranes, or chemical wash buffers. By integrating on-chip enzymatic lysis, electrophoretic purification, and isothermal amplification, a 45-minute sample-to-answer workflow is enabled with a limit of detection of 1 CFU per reaction, surpassing most existing microfluidic systems. The system further demonstrates species-level specificity for MRSA, MSSA, and E. coli using targeted primer sets, enabled by a low-cost optical readout. Our work introduces a molecular diagnostic that advances point-of-care pathogen detection.

​

Mid-Morning Coffee and Tea Break and Networking with Exhibitors

​

Ivan Rusyn, University Professor, Texas A&M University, United States of America

Building Cross-Sector Consensus on the Utility of Complex In Vitro Models

Rapid growth and sustained publicity around microphysiological systems and the desire to develop alternatives to animal testing have created high expectations for their adoption in safety and efficacy testing by both industry and regulators. However, many potential end-users remain cautious due to high costs, low throughput, and uncertainty about their practical utility in regulatory science. To test robustness, reproducibility and relevance of these models, the TEX-VAL Consortium was formed in 2020 as a public-private partnership dedicated to testing and qualifying promising platforms before their implementation in end-user laboratories. By pooling resources, pharmaceutical and consumer health companies, and government agencies jointly develop relevant contexts of use, design targeted studies, and evaluate data to determine whether a technology is fit for decision-making. This presentation will outline the most recent studies by the Consortium, with a focus on practical considerations for applying microphysiological systems in regulatory decision-making.

Yung-Te Hou, Professor, National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei

Decellularized Liver Matrix-based Materials for Liver Tissue Engineering Application

Liver failure poses a significant challenge affecting millions of patients annually. While whole liver transplantation stands as an effective intervention for end-stage liver failure, its success is contingent on the availability of suitable donors. Tissue engineering emerges as a promising alternative, particularly in cases where the metabolic function can be sustained by a fraction of the liver. In our research, we have utilized decellularized liver matrix (DLM) to investigate the nanofibrous structure of the liver extracellular matrix (ECM). Native ECMs typically exhibit fibril diameters ranging from several nanometers to hundreds of nanometers, influencing the modulation of inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in various cells in vivo. DLMs serve as a source for generating fibrous scaffolds as ECM substitutes, allowing the targeted delivery of cells without the risk of ectopic cell transplantation—a potentially undesirable outcome. DLMs present practical applications for mimicking native ECM architectures, spanning from nanoscale to microscale, offering topographic cues that regulate cellular responses, including adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.

Our laboratory is dedicated to addressing liver-related diseases using DLM-based materials. This includes the attachment of hepatic patches to injured liver areas, intravenous injection of nanomedicine for liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, injection of self-healing hydrogel on fibrotic areas, intraportal injection of injectable hydrogel for comprehensive treatment of liver inflammation, spray of nanogels for post-hepatectomy hemostasis and liver regeneration, and the development of a liver-on-a-chip, which mimics the in vivo liver environment through cell-embedded DLM fabrication and DLM-coating techniques. Our findings not only demonstrate advantages in in vitro cultures but also show promising therapeutic effects in in vivo fibrosis/cirrhosis models and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis models. We believe that DLM-based materials hold high potential for further clinical applications.

Hiroshi Kimura, Professor, Micro/Nano Technology Center, Tokai University, Japan

Versatile Microphysiological Systems Enabling Drug Evaluation and Organ Interaction Studies

Microphysiological systems (MPS) based on microfluidic technologies have gained increasing attention as in vitro platforms for assessing pharmacological efficacy and toxicity. They are now often considered a practical complement to traditional animal models in drug development. In this study, we developed two complementary MPS platforms—Fluid3D-X® and the BioStellar® Plate—in collaboration with industrial partners.

Fluid3D-X® is a microfluidic device that integrates a porous membrane within a double-layered microchannel structure, fabricated using engineering-grade plastics. This design allows for controlled perfusion and the application of physiologically relevant shear stress, while also enabling quantitative analysis of molecular transport across epithelial or endothelial barriers. As a result, the system is particularly well suited for modeling membrane-type tissues such as the intestine, lung, and kidney. To further improve usability and reproducibility, we incorporated a compact perfusion system along with automated imaging functions adapted from live-cell monitoring technologies. The BioStellar® Plate, on the other hand, is designed as a scalable multi-organ MPS platform. It features an on-chip kinetic-pumping mechanism driven by a magnetic stirrer and consists of interconnected open-well culture chambers arranged in a standard multiwell plate format. This configuration simplifies handling and ensures compatibility with existing cell culture workflows. It also makes it easier to integrate established cell models and to study dynamic interactions between different tissue types without requiring complex technical procedures. Taken together, these two platforms offer flexible experimental environments that balance physiological relevance with ease of use and scalability. In this presentation, we describe their design concepts and demonstrate representative applications, including drug response evaluation and the analysis of inter-organ interactions.

Seiichi Ishida, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Sojo University; Guest Researcher, National Institute of Health Sciences, Japan

Advancing MPS toward Practical Implementation: Lessons from Japan’s AMED-MPS Projects and a New Monitoring Initiative

Japan has promoted the development and practical implementation of microphysiological systems (MPS) through a series of national AMED-MPS projects. These projects have progressed from the development of new MPS platforms to the evaluation of their usability, reproducibility, and applicability in pharmaceutical research, together with activities toward standardization and regulatory acceptance. Through these efforts, various points that should be considered for reliable MPS use have been identified, including cell quality and function, device characteristics, operating conditions, robustness, and reproducibility.

One important consideration is how to ensure that appropriate culture conditions are maintained throughout an MPS experiment. Because MPS are dynamic systems, changes in flow rate, nutrient availability, oxygen, metabolites, or barrier integrity may affect cell function and data reliability without being detected by endpoint measurements. Based on these considerations, a new Japanese project has been initiated to develop MPS perfusion culture systems with in-line monitoring. This presentation will introduce Japan’s AMED-MPS initiatives and discuss how lessons learned from their development and implementation have led to this new monitoring approach, including the concept of “Quality by Monitoring” for reliable and fit-for-purpose MPS.

​

Networking Lunch -- Japanese Bento -- Meet with Exhibitors and Engage with Colleagues Over Lunch

​

Lewis Kikuchi, Technical Adviser, BEAMS, Japan

Direct Laser Write Technology : What Makes Dilase Systems so Unique for Microfluidic Applications?

Considering Microfabrication for Microfluic applications implicates various challenges that imply to make the right choice in terms of lithograpy tools to produce the tiny microstructures, where, in particular, the micro-channels sidewalls must very often be very high, very straight vertically and where roughness is the ennemy. And whatever it can be considered for Production in small or medium series as well as for R&D purposes, direct laser writers are a preferred approach for the custom design of all types of microfluidic components, offering short cycle times to quickly obtain designs with expected performance… provided, however, that, among the range of differents solutions that may look 'very similar" to each other, you first choose the technology that truly offers the specifications adapted to the technological challenges of your application and design, to avoid any risk of disappointment. Because all direct laser writers do not offer the same technological capabilities, and this presentation will highlight the main characteristics that must be pointed out.

Tony Yung, Chief Commercial Officer, Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre (ABIC), Hong Kong

From Bench to Market: ABIC’s Approach to Developing and Commercializing Organoid and Microphysiological System Technologies

Organoid and microphysiological system (MPS) platforms are moving from academic prototypes toward tools that pharmaceutical, CRO and clinical partners can actually adopt. This talk introduces how the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre (ABIC)—an innovation centre established by the University of Hong Kong and operating in the Hong Kong Science Park—builds that path for organoid and MPS inventions. ABIC integrates various types of organoid models with organ-on-chip and MPS hardware, including vascular, barrier and 3D biomimetic screening formats, and couples them to assay development for drug screening, toxicity testing and mechanistic studies. The Centre treats these platforms as products as well as science: product-development teams, industry collaborations (including MPS partnerships for pharmaceutical use-case validation), patenting, spin-off formation, and structured translation programmes that connect investigators with partners and investors. Drawing on ABIC’s “next-generation CRO” strategies, the presentation will outline practical choices in model selection, chip integration, assay robustness, and commercial directions that determine whether an organoid or MPS invention remains a paper, or becomes a deployable and marketable tool.

Kenji Miyamoto, Assistant General Manager, NIKON SOLUTIONS, CO., LTD, Japan

NAMs experiments in Bio Imaging Consortium at Shonan iPark

“Shonan-Kaigi”, Bio Imaging Consortium at Shonan iPark, was established by 8 members, those are companies dealing with AI, MPS, and equipment in 2025 to accelerate NAMs’ initiation. It is growing slightly and additional 2 members participated this year. NAMs experiments in Bio Imaging Consortium at Shonan iPark will be launched on Oct 15th, 2026. It should contribute to pushing researchers working at iPark and companies requiring information and experiences in advance to install NAMs into their usual works.

​

Mid-Afternoon Coffee and Tea Break and Networking

​

Akash Singh, Microfluidic Scientist, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Germany

Sample Handling System for High-Throughput Field-Resolved Infrared Molecular Fingerprinting

Field-resolved infrared spectroscopy (FRIS) is a label-free technique with a high dynamic range that simultaneously measures the amplitude and phase of mid-infrared electric fields, enabling molecular fingerprinting of biological samples for clinical applications. FRIS measurements are susceptible to laser drift, low-frequency laser noise, temperature fluctuations, and contamination artifacts, all of which must be addressed for high-throughput clinical screening.
To overcome these limitations, we developed an automated sample-handling system specifically designed for reproducible FRIS measurements. The system features a Y-channel sample cell that enables rapid sample-reference modulation, effectively suppressing low-frequency noise and reducing laser baseline drift. It also includes an aspiration–injection workflow capable of transferring ~120 μL samples with high reproducibility. System performance was validated using various samples, including commercial human blood serum, aqueous DMSO₂ (dimethyl sulfone) solutions, and other chemicals. Differential absorption spectra demonstrated excellent reproducibility and sensitivity, while sample-reference modulation spectroscopy measurements showed stable performance with minimal noise. The developed sample-handling system enhances FRIS stability and sensitivity by suppressing low-frequency noise, establishing a foundation for large-scale biomedical screening programs, including the H4H (Health for Hungary - Hungary for Health) initiative, which plans to analyse more than 50,000 human blood samples, and enabling automated sample measurements.

Daniel Citterio, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Japan

Advancing Paper-Based Bioanalysis: From Point-of-Care Diagnostics to Bioluminescence Screening

Paper-based analytical devices (PADs) provide an attractive platform for developing simple, low-cost, and disposable analytical systems with potential applications in point-of-care testing and decentralized analysis. While many PADs rely on qualitative or semi-quantitative colorimetric detection, appropriate engineering of paper substrates, fluid transport, reagent deposition, and detection strategies can considerably expand their analytical capabilities. This presentation introduces two examples illustrating different directions in paper-based bioanalysis.

The first example focuses on a PAD for quantitative detection of a biomarker associated with periodontitis in saliva. Saliva represents an attractive non-invasive sample for point-of-care diagnostics, but its complex composition and the relatively low concentrations of clinically relevant biomarkers present significant analytical challenges. Optimization of the device architecture, fluid handling, and assay conditions was therefore investigated to improve sensitivity and reproducibility for quantitative biomarker analysis.

The second example combines paper-based 96-well microplates with inkjet printing for bioluminescence-based chemical screening. Compared with manual pipetting or automated injection into conventional microplates, inkjet printing combined with paper microplates enables rapid and precisely controlled reagent deposition while substantially reducing sample and reagent consumption. Moreover, the planar two-dimensional format of the paper microplate enables simultaneous imaging of the entire platform using an imaging system, eliminating the need for well-by-well measurement with a conventional microplate reader.

Together, these studies demonstrate how paper-based platforms can enable quantitative diagnostics and simplified, miniaturized bioanalytical screening.

Yoshikazu Kameda, R&D Director, Physios Biotech, Inc., Japan

Development and Translation of Boncyte® Microphysiological Systems for Renal and Tumor Microenvironment Models

Physios Biotech Inc. is developing microphysiological system (MPS) platforms under the Boncyte® brand, building on MPS technologies established in the Yokokawa Laboratory at Kyoto University. The company develops not only MPS chips and peripheral equipment, but also application-specific cell culture and assay systems. For renal applications, a “Double Flow” chip consisting of top and bottom channels separated by a porous membrane has been used to optimize proximal tubule culture conditions. These efforts have demonstrated the potential of the platform to reproduce renal proximal tubule functions, including drug transporter activity, that are challenging to evaluate in conventional culture systems. For cancer applications, “3-Channel” and “Spheroid” chips employ micropillar-separated channels to enable hydrogel patterning and multicellular co-culture. The use of an oxygen-permeable film was found to enhance angiogenesis, providing a basis for constructing vascularized tumor microenvironments.

Sven Kreutel, CEO, Particle Metrix, Inc., United States of America and Germany

Onsite, Hands-On Demonstration and Deep Dive of the Particle Metrix Platform for NTA, fNTA and Nanoparticle Analysis

​

​

Japanese Beer Reception -- Networking and Continuation of Instrument Demonstration

​

​

Close of Conference Day

​