Impuls Project: M²OGA - Molecular Human Organoid and Tissue Analysis: Multimodality, Digitization, 3D Imaging, Highly Integrated Applications

The focus of M²OGA is on methods of multimodal tissue analysis as well as the production and application of tissue preparations and complex cell cultures for drug discovery and pathology of the future. The project’s innovative approach is to combine traditional methods with the new and rapidly growing possibilities of three-dimensional imaging, digital analytics, and to process the data thus obtained at a higher level of knowledge and use it for the intended research purposes. The aim of the project is, with partners from industry, to develop highly integrated applications for various complex problems of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry.

The project sets crucial strategic impulses for the Rhine-Main-Neckar region, which is already known as an economically strong health industry region. It addresses a range of topics in which increasing digitization will lead to an innovative leap forward in terms of biomolecular data collection and interpretation. M²OGA contributes to this by promoting the digitalisation of workflows and analytical processes in clinical pathology. Another focus of M²OGA is the multimodal 3D representation of molecular information in tissues. To do this, it combines various advanced imaging techniques with innovative tissue-clearing technologies and uses virtual engineering technologies in biomedical imaging. To improve preclinical research and reduce animal testing, M²OGA is working on three-dimensional cell culture models that are being developed to replace human tissue. For the development of innovative industrial applications in molecular tissue analytics, scientists at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences are also dealing with issues that have a long-term focus on individualized patient therapy, amongst others, for the detection of active substances at the site of action (for example in tumors) or for the biocompatibility of implantable sensors.

M²OGA's project objectives can be identified as key building blocks for a comprehensive eHealth strategy, which will increasingly leverage information and communication technologies for prevention, diagnosis, therapy and patient control in healthcare. With the planned automation of processes and the networking of technologies, M²OGA is also making an important contribution to the development of Industry 4.0.