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  • Fraunhofer researchers hand over mobile care platform to NGO for field tests / 2023

    Sustainable and decentralized: Health care in rural areas of the sub-Saharan region

    Press Release / March 06, 2023

    PreCare care unit
    © Fraunhofer IST, Lothar Schäfer

    With the aim of being able to ensure comprehensive preclinical care in even the most remote areas of Africa, researchers from the Fraunhofer institutes for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and for Solar Energy Systems ISE, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University and South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) in South Africa, have developed a mobile care platform which, on 3rd March 2023, was handed over to the NGO Rhiza Babuyile during a ceremonial event. The non-profit organization has a number of locations in South Africa and will conduct the one-year test phase of the supply unit in the Mpumalanga region.

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  • European project “TranSensus LCA” kicked-off in Brussels / 2023

    Fraunhofer coordinates a project on the harmonization of a transport-specific Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)

    Press Release / February 02, 2023

    TranSensus LCA kicked-off in Brussels will pave the way for LCA-based product and business development within the road transport market.
    © Fraunhofer LBF

    The Fraunhofer-Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF and the Fraunhofer-Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST jointly coordinates a Support and Coordinated Action aiming at defining and harmonising a commonly accepted and applied single Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach for zero-emission vehicles ZEV. Both institutes brought together 44 key stakeholders along the full value chain of zero-emission vehicles covering, among others, vehicle and battery manufactures, the supply industry, energy providers and recyclers. This unique initiative is supported by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and had its kick-off meeting on February 1 in Brussels with about 60 attendees.

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  • Fraunhofer researchers develop innovative method for clinical applications in the field of stem-cell-based retinal implants / 2023

    Controlled manufacture, storage and freezing of artificial retinal cells

    Press Release / January 11, 2023

    Scheme KryoRet
    © Fraunhofer IBMT

    Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative eye condition that affects approximately ¼ of the population. Particularly in the western world, it is the most frequent cause of blindness in humans. In most cases, the chronic progression of the retinal condition is not curable, as the window of opportunity in which any therapeutic action can be taken is very small. One potential new form of treatment is presented by stem-cell therapy. Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a new method for the production and clinical application of stem-cell-based retinal implants, which could contribute towards the successful treatment of AMD. Their approach thereby is to replace damaged tissue with stem-cell-based transplants.

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  • B+T Innovation Award 2022
    © Norbert Kaufmann, B+T Unternehmensgruppe

    On 1st December 2022, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST was honored with this year’s B+T Innovation Award in recognition of its human-centered research and development into sustainable as well as future-oriented technologies. The recipient is selected by a panel of experts from the B+T group of companies.

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  • The Fraunhofer IST at Formnext 2022 / 2022

    Layer by layer to more stability: New possibilities for 3D printing through integrated plasma treatment

    Press Release / November 14, 2022

    Plasma point source
    © Fraunhofer IST, Paul Kurze

    Additive-manufacturing processes are characterized by the fact that the components are built up layer by layer using, for example, plastics. The adhesion of the individual layers thereby plays an important role, as it significantly influences the stability of the printed components. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, plasma sources are currently being developed which can be integrated into the 3D printer, thereby enabling a targeted chemical modification of the surface during the printing process itself. Amongst other things, a significant increase in adhesion can consequently be achieved, which leads to new options for 3D-printed component manufacturing.

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  • Fraunhofer-High-Performance Center Medical and Pharmaceutical Engineering at COMPAMED 2022 / 2022

    Plasma treatment during 3D printing improves acceptance of implants

    Press Release / November 07, 2022

    Surface functionalization via a plasma source integrated into additive manufacturing.
    © Fraunhofer IST, Falko Oldenburg

    Artificial hip joints, made-to-measure heart valves or precision-fit blood vessels: implants – particularly those based on scaffolds, i.e. 3D-printed framework structures – are playing an increasingly significant role in regenerative and personalized medicine. It is important for the scaffolds to be readily accepted by the body’s cells and for there to be no rejection reactions. Pre-treatment with plasma can ensure the prerequisites for this. In the High-Performance Center Medical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST have succeeded in integrating a plasma source into a 3D printer, thereby enabling the surface to be modified. The aim is to treat the scaffolds with plasma during the actual printing process in order to produce the desired properties.

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  • Focus Journey Structural Change
    © Fraunhofer, Max Niemann

    How can an economic, social and ecologically sustainable structural change be achieved in the former opencast mines near Helmstedt? How can jobs in this region be safeguarded and new ones created? Which innovations are necessary in order to strengthen the agricultural enterprises in the region in the long term? These questions are being addressed not only by politicians and the people and companies of the Helmstedt region, but also by the scientists of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

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  • Accolade from the Braunschweig Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) for apprentice at the Fraunhofer IST / 2022

    “Very good” for Anton Corba

    Press Release / October 24, 2022

    IHK Braunschweig 2022 examination honors
    © IHK Braunschweig, Andreas Rudolph

    Within the framework of the 2022 examination honors, Anton Corba, an apprentice at the Fraunhofer IST, received an accolade for his very good performance in his final examination to become an IT specialist for systems integration. IHK President Tobias Hoffmann presented the graduate with a certificate in recognition of this at the ceremony in Braunschweig’s Millenium Event Center.

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  • The Fraunhofer IST at the K2022 / 2022

    More stable 3D-printed components with the aid of atmospheric pressure plasmas

    Press Release / October 11, 2022

    Plasma treatment of a 3D printed component.
    © Fraunhofer IST, Paul Kurze

    Stability is one of the core requirements and at the same time an important potential weak point for components manufactured in layer-by-layer 3D printing such as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). One key to greater stability is to improve the adhesion between the individual layers, and the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST achieve this through targeted chemical modification of the surface by using atmospheric pressure plasmas. Various plasma sources have been developed at the Fraunhofer IST specifically for this application, which can be integrated into the 3D printer and thus enables the individual layers, which are often no longer accessible later, to be treated during the printing process.

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  • BMBF-funded project on the generation of pure hydrogen is launched / 2022

    Sustainable and climate-neutral: Transforming waste into hydrogen

    Press Release / October 10, 2022

    TCR-Technikums-Anlage
    © Fraunhofer UMSICHT

    How can pure hydrogen be produced in a climate-neutral process, independent of solar radiation or wind strength, and then utilized to operate fuel cells or for application in the semiconductor industry? This is the question being addressed by a current research project involving the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT, and Veolia Umweltservice Süd GmbH & Co. KG. Their plan is to use organic waste as a starting material for alternative hydrogen production.

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