Diepenbeek (Eurotoday) – UHasselt’s BIOMED institute in Diepenbeek unveiled a €480,000 MACSima scanner to study ageing and diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, with support from ERDF and expert Prof. Niels Hellings.
As VRT News reported, the BIOMED research institute at Hasselt University in Diepenbeek, in the province of Limburg, Belgium, has received new technology to strengthen its studies on ageing and major diseases.
For years, the team has been working to understand how ageing affects the body and why some people age in good health while others develop chronic conditions. Studies show that 4 out of 5 people over 65 face health issues. To explore this, researchers use “ageing biomarkers.”
How will UHasselt’s €480K MACSima scanner boost disease research?
The institute has now introduced the advanced MACSima scanner, allowing scientists to examine more than 100 ageing biomarkers at once. Previously, only a few could be studied at the same time.
“Looking at multiple biomarkers simultaneously saves enormous time in our research on conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and cardiovascular disease,”
explains Professor Niels Hellings.
“This device also allows us to simultaneously observe different levels within a cell, both RNA and protein,”
Hellings continues.
“This makes research more efficient and accurate, because you get much more information to work with much faster.”
UHasselt in Diepenbeek has introduced a new MACSima scanner worth €480,000. The advanced scanner gives scientists a clear and detailed view of body tissues, allowing them to study how diseases develop at the cellular level. It helps identify which biomarkers are linked to conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular problems, and spinal cord injuries.
The new equipment also supports the search for new treatments for illnesses that currently have no cure. The project is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Limburg Cancer Fund.
“You can compare it a bit to Google Maps,”
explains Cillian Ross of Miltenyi Biotec.
“The researcher sees not only the structure of the tissue, the streets. They also see the houses and the people living in them: which cells, what cell type they are, and how the cells relate to each other.”
In the first stage, UHasselt researchers will use postmortem tissues from laboratory animals to study the effects of ageing and disease. Research on human tissues will follow later. The MACSima scanner will also be available to companies that focus on developing treatments for age-related diseases.
The BIOMED research institute at Hasselt University in Diepenbeek was founded in 1996 and has developed into an important centre for medical research in Limburg. The institute has examined important health topics over the years, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease. The predominant theme for BIOMED has been ageing and regeneration.
Comments
20 responses to “UHasselt Unveils €480K MACSima Scanner for Disease Research”
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Oh, a €480K scanner to figure out why we age? Brilliant! I guess the coffee breaks will now come with a side of groundbreaking research. ☕️💸
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Finally, a €480K gadget to tell us what we already know: age is a bit of a bummer. But hey, at least the researchers can watch their biomarker bingo games in style! 😂
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A €480K scanner, eh? Just what we need—another fancy gadget to tell us what we already know: we’re all slowly falling apart. 😂 Better start saving for those age-related treatments now, mate!
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Typical, isn’t it? Just when you think the price of a decent Belgian beer is high, they whip out a €480K gadget to peer into people’s cells instead. 🍻 Who knew science could cost more than a small car!
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So, let me get this straight—€480k for a fancy scanner that does what a good old-fashioned microscope does, but with a snazzier interface? Sounds like a bargain, right? 😂
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A €480K scanner to study ageing? Just what we needed—because who doesn’t love throwing money at machines that can basically Google our problems? 😂
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A €480K scanner for disease research? Just what we needed—another shiny gadget to remind us we’re all just ticking time bombs. 🙄💰
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Blimey, €480K for a fancy scanner just to figure out why some of us age like fine wine while others are like old milk? If only it could also solve the mystery of why politicians never seem to age! 🍷💸
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Oh joy, another shiny €480K gadget to help us understand why we’re all falling apart—just what the doctor ordered! 🙄 Let’s hope it can figure out why the coffee in the lab is never strong enough to tackle all that ageing research! ☕️
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A €480K scanner to study diseases? Brilliant! Just what we need—another expensive gadget for the lab while the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to afford our morning coffee. ☕️💸
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Oh, just what we needed—a €480K gadget to tell us we’re all getting old and sick! Maybe next, they’ll invent a machine that helps us avoid the café prices in Diepenbeek. 💸
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Well, for just €480,000, we could finally get a scanner that helps us understand why old age is basically a never-ending series of unfortunate events—but hey, at least we can see the mess in high definition now! 😂
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So, a fancy €480K scanner just to figure out why we’re all falling apart? Brilliant! Next up, a €1M coffee machine to fuel the researchers’ existential crises! ☕️💸
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Must be nice to have a half a million euros to play with while the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to age gracefully with just a good bottle of wine 🍷. I guess this scanner is the latest must-have gadget for the “young at heart” crowd! 😂
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A €480K scanner for disease research? Wow, just what we needed – another fancy gadget to remind us how much our bodies are falling apart! 🥴 But hey, at least it’s got the charm of a posh restaurant bill! 🍽️💸
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Oh, just what we needed—another fancy €480K gadget to tell us that aging is a thing. Guess the last €479,999 didn’t quite cut it! 😂
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Guess they finally decided that throwing half a million at a fancy scanner is the best way to understand how we’re all aging like a fine cheese—smelly and full of holes! 🧀💸
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Nothing says “let’s tackle cancer” quite like a €480,000 scanner—just your average price tag for a high-tech gadget! 💸 It’s like buying a fancy espresso machine that promises to brew the perfect cup while your neighbors are still trying to figure out their instant coffee. ☕️
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Fancy a flashy €480K scanner to ‘speed up’ our understanding of aging? Just what we need—more gadgets while we still can’t figure out the simple stuff. 🙄
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A €480K scanner to study disease? Brilliant! Just what we need—more expensive gadgets while the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to get our morning croissant without stepping on a pigeon. 🥐🐦
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