ORCHID Project to develop roadmap for organ-on-a-chip technology in Europe

The ORCHID consortium, led by Leiden University Medical Center and the Dutch hDMT (human Disease Model Technologies), has been assigned by the EU with the task to create a roadmap for the future development of organ-on-chip technology. Its aim is to establish a European infrastructure to enable coordinated development, production and implementation of organ-on-a-chip systems. The consortium is funded by the EU FET-Open Program and brings together six leading European research institutions.

The consortium’s aim is to accelerate the societal and economic impact of organ-on-a-chip technology through coordinated action. Organs-on-chips combine human mini-organs with microelectronics, microfluidics and nanosensors. This technology is already providing new platforms for drug discovery but is poised to deliver applications in personalized medicine and safety pharmacology, and offers alternatives to conventional animal testing. Over the next two years, the EU will invest 0.5 million Euros in the ORgan-on-CHip In Development (ORCHID) project.

(Fraunhofer IGB press release)