Convergence Imaging Facility and Innovation Centre (CIFIC)
Accelerating innovation in biomedical imaging and microscopy
Advanced imaging and microscopy are essential for understanding complex diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, heart failure and infertility. The better researchers can observe cells, tissues and molecular processes, the better they can understand how diseases develop and how treatments can be improved. At the same time, there is often a major gap between the development of new imaging technologies and their practical application in biomedical research and healthcare. New microscopy techniques can take many years to move from prototype to real-world use. Researchers also face challenges in connecting imaging technologies, sample preparation, data analysis and clinical questions into one integrated workflow.
CIFIC aims to help bridge this gap. Within the Convergence Health & Technology Flagship CIFIC, researchers and innovation partners work together to accelerate the development, application and implementation of advanced imaging approaches in biomedical science. Through the collaboration between TU Delft, Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam, CIFIC is building a convergent imaging ecosystem in which technology development and biomedical application continuously inform and strengthen each other.
What the CIFIC Flagship works on
CIFIC focuses on accelerating both the development and practical use of advanced bio-imaging and microscopy technologies. The Flagship combines technology innovation with biomedical application and workflow development, aiming to make advanced imaging approaches more accessible and usable in research and future healthcare applications. A central part of the Flagship is the close collaboration between researchers at TU Delft and Erasmus MC. Postdoctoral researchers and project teams work across disciplines, connecting imaging physics, engineering, biology, medicine, computational analysis and implementation expertise. Disease-focused projects include applications in cancer, heart failure, neurodevelopmental and hematological disorders, and infertility.
Rather than focusing only on developing new instruments, CIFIC also works on the broader imaging workflow surrounding these technologies. This includes sample preparation, tissue preservation, staining procedures, image reconstruction, data analysis, computational algorithms and the integration of multiple microscopy techniques into connected workflows. The Flagship operates through an interconnected ecosystem involving the Optical Imaging Centre (Erasmus MC), the Van Leeuwenhoek Laboratory for Advanced Imaging Research (TU Delft), researchers across the three institutions, and collaborations with industrial partners. This structure helps shorten the time between technology development, biomedical validation and broader adoption.
CIFIC also contributes to national and international imaging infrastructures and collaborates with partners in microscopy, imaging technologies and biomedical innovation. The Flagship combines infrastructure development, interdisciplinary collaboration, workflow innovation and open science approaches to support the next generation of biomedical imaging research.
Featured story
From prototype to biomedical application
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How can advanced microscopy move faster from technological breakthrough to real biomedical application? In this story, CIFIC lead Jacob Hoogenboom explains why closer collaboration between imaging technology developers and biomedical researchers is essential to accelerate innovation, improve workflows and bridge the gap between prototype development and practical use in healthcare and research. Read the interview/story. |
Innovation highlights
FAST-EM workflow development
CIFIC contributed to the development of a complete sample-to-data workflow for FAST-EM, a multibeam electron microscopy approach that enables large-scale, high-resolution imaging at much higher speed. The Flagship helped develop sample preparation protocols, image reconstruction workflows and data analysis tools to support biomedical applications in areas such as hematology research.
ENZEL cryo-microscopy platform
Researchers within CIFIC contributed to workflows and protocols surrounding the ENZEL cryo-microscope, developed together with academic and industrial partners. The work supports fluorescence-targeted cryo-electron tomography and helped accelerate translation from technical development toward broader application.
Integrated imaging workflows
CIFIC focuses not only on new microscopes, but on the complete imaging workflow surrounding them. This includes tissue preparation, staining procedures, image reconstruction, computational analysis and the integration of multiple microscopy techniques into connected workflows for biomedical research. These workflows are currently being applied and optimized within disease-focused imaging projects across Erasmus MC and TU Delft.
AI-supported image analysis
The Flagship develops computational tools and algorithms for large-scale image processing and analysis. Examples include segmentation and reconstruction tools that help researchers process complex microscopy datasets more efficiently and make advanced imaging methods more accessible for biomedical applications.
Open imaging data and software
CIFIC actively supports open science by developing and sharing open-source imaging software, protocols and datasets. Several computational tools and workflows are already publicly available to support broader use and reproducibility of advanced imaging methods.
Flagship News: CIFIC
Policy & societal impact
CIFIC contributes to strengthening Dutch and international biomedical imaging infrastructure by accelerating the application of advanced microscopy in biomedical research. The Flagship focuses on reducing the long delay between technology development and practical use by connecting imaging hardware, sample preparation, computational analysis and biomedical applications within integrated workflows. The Flagship also contributes to open science through openly shared protocols, datasets, software tools and imaging workflows. In parallel, collaborations with industrial partners help support translation towards broader adoption and future commercialization of imaging technologies. By improving access to advanced imaging approaches, CIFIC supports biomedical research into diseases including cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, heart failure and infertility, helping researchers better understand disease mechanisms at cellular and molecular level.
Partners & ecosystem
CIFIC brings together researchers, imaging facilities and innovation partners from TU Delft, Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam. A central role is played by the collaboration between the Optical Imaging Centre (Erasmus MC) and the Van Leeuwenhoek Laboratory for Advanced Imaging Research (TU Delft).
The Flagship collaborates with national imaging infrastructures including NL-BioImaging and NEMI, and is expanding collaborations with imaging centers and research institutes in the Netherlands and internationally. CIFIC also works closely with industrial and technology partners including Delmic, Thermo Fisher, Hitachi, Technolution and other microscopy and imaging companies to support workflow development, co-development and future translation of imaging technologies.
Education & talent development
CIFIC actively contributes to interdisciplinary education in Nanobiology, Molecular Medicine and biomedical imaging through hands-on microscopy courses, imaging practicals and collaborative student projects. Bachelor, Master and PhD students work directly on imaging and biomedical research projects within the Flagship, often in interdisciplinary teams spanning technology and medicine. CIFIC also supports traineeships and research projects connected to advanced microscopy workflows, computational imaging and biomedical applications.
Looking ahead
In the coming years, CIFIC aims to further strengthen the integration between microscopy technology development, biomedical application and workflow innovation. A major focus will be the further development and validation of integrated imaging workflows that combine sample preparation, imaging, computational analysis and biomedical interpretation.
The Flagship is also working towards broader implementation and translation of imaging technologies through collaborations with industrial partners and national and international imaging infrastructures. Planned next steps include expanding collaborations with imaging centers at other UMCs and strengthening connections with international imaging institutes and research infrastructures.
At the same time, CIFIC aims to further develop its open science and education activities through shared datasets, software tools, imaging protocols and interdisciplinary training initiatives. The Flagship also continues to explore opportunities for commercialization, co-development and future adoption of advanced microscopy technologies in biomedical research environments.
