rapifleXTM MALDI TissuetyperTM

Speed | Robustness | Definition

The rapifleX instrument re-defines the key performance measures for MALDI Imaging:

Up to 40 true pixels / second for faster and better images
smartbeam™ 3D laser for better pixel-to-pixel reproducibility
Novel ion source design for increased robustness

Dual rotating mirrors raster the laser beam in an x-y axis which is independent of the x-y motion of the target. The two independent movements combine to create the ideal sampling environment for Imaging: the true, welldefined pixels, as seen above, acquired at maximum acquisition rate.

rapifleX MALDI Tissuetyper - Designed for MALDI Imaging

MALDI time-of-flight system
New ion source for robust day-to-day operation
Novel smartbeam™ 3D laser
Fast acquisition of up to 50 true square pixel / second
Laser repetition rate 10 kHz

Proteins in gastric cancer, pixel size 30 μm, 99000 pixels, 500 laser shots per pixel, measurement time 82 minutes.

Laser and Ion Source Designed for MALDI Tissue typing - smartbeam 3D laser

During the image acquisition the sample stage moves continually to achieve high pixel rates. The newly developed smartbeam™ 3D laser fires at a repetition rate of up to 10 kHz.

The new smartbeam™ 3D laser features a laser diameter of 5um. As illustrated below, the laser can move independently from the sample stage to scan the full area of each pixel. This produces truly square pixels which utilizes all of the available sample area for maximum sensitivity and pixel-to-pixel reproducibility.

Ablated matrix showing square pixels.

Integrated software solutions

flexImaging dedicated molecular histology software controls data acquisition, data visualization, annotation and integration of virtual microscopic slides
SCiLS Lab is the dedicated software for statistical analysis. From individual imaging datasets to complete clinical biomarker studies, it features univariate and multivariate methods to mine the data and to find relevant information.

Overlay of MALDI Tissuetyper image with microscopic image acquired from the same tissue section provides a clear link to histology.

Novel Ion Source Design for Robust Day-to-Day Operation

Extends uptime between cleaning by orders of magnitude.
Easy access to self-aligning ion lenses when cleaning is in fact needed. The whole lens pack can be rinsed with Ethanol.

SCiLS Lab

statistical analysis software for mining MALDI Tissuetyper data. It allows both the analysis of individual datasets and the comprehensive analysis of clinical and pre-clinical studies.

User interface to handle multiple datasets
Univariate analysis: Mean intensities, standard deviations, uncovering discriminative m/z-markers (ROC analysis), hypothesis tests and discovery of co-localized m/z values
Unsupervised multivariate analysis: Spatial segmentation of large datasets, component analysis for extraction of underlying trends
Supervised tissue typing: Calculation of classifiers based on training data and classification of new observations / samples

Analysis of a clinical dataset with 21 independent patient samples in SCiLS Lab.

Leading Software for MALDI Tissue typing

flexImaging

allows to set up and analyze individual datasets.

Wizard driven user-friendly set up of new experiments
True 64-bit application allows efficient handling of megapixel datasets
Direct access to single mass spectra
Batch acquisition
Co-register and super-impose virtual microscopic slides at full resolution for detailed histological annotation

MALDI Imaging data overlaid with virtual microscopic slide in flexImaging.

SCiLS Lab 3D

With the unparalleled speed of the rapifleX, 3D MALDI Tissuetyper studies are within reach. The SCiLS Lab 3D option allows the reconstruction, visualization, and statistical analysis of 3D Imaging datasets.

3D volume reconstruction and spatial segmentation of a kidney sample in SCiLS Lab.

Tissue typing - A Clinical Discovery Workflow

“The ideal imaging MS system needs high data acquisition speeds, high spatial resolution capabilities, and high mass resolving power. With this new system, Bruker re-imagined the MALDI source and laser optics to deliver very impressive performance and information throughput. This is a revolutionary instrument which has the potential to significantly improve sample throughput and offer useful information in real time in clinical research.”

Dr. Pierre Chaurand, Associate Professor, Université de Montréal, Canada

“Translational clinically oriented research with imaging mass spectrometry is critically dependent on speed and robust operation. Current instrumentation is limiting its full adaptation. The rapifleX MALDI Tissuetyper allows us to finally overcome that limitation. It enables us to engage in high throughput clinical studies and establishes mass spectrometry imaging as a powerful and reliable information source for personalized medicine research.“

Dr. Ron M.A. Heeren, Director M4I, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

“The analysis of tumor heterogeneity is one of the most important biomedical research challenges in oncology and personalized medicine. MALDI imaging is perfectly suited to get an unbiased molecular view on tumor heterogeneity. The speed and performance of the rapifleX MALDI Tissuetyper gives us for the first time the possibility to analyze even large tumor specimen over huge patient cohorts with sufficient spatial resolution to get a comprehensive understanding of tumor heterogeneity. “

Dr. Axel Walch, Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz-Centre Munich, Germany

Service & Support

Bruker Daltonics services are performed by factory trained and certified engineers. DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 requirements are fulfilled

Available services include:

Help desk service for a faster access to our support team, to your service order follow up and for general information
Planned maintenance, according to our requirement

Telephone support from highly-skilled troubleshooting professionals, to isolate and resolve hard- and software problems
Web-based remote instrument service for service diagnosis and applications support
Customer on-site repair and maintenance service
Spare parts availability typically over night or within a few working days worldwide

Compliance services for installation qualification, operational qualification / performance verification
Site planning and relocation
Advise to improve labs efficiency (consumable, method development & how to run the complete solution)

Bruker rapifleX MALDI Tissuetyper - Product Animation

Bruker rapifleX MALDI Tissuetyper pre-introduction day in Bremen

For Research Use Only. Not for Use in Clinical Diagnostic Procedures.