2007 Annual Report

Haab Invention Speeds
Research and Saves Resources
VARI Senior Scientific
Investigator Brian Haab,
Ph.D., is the inventor of
the SlideImprinter, a device
that partitions laboratory slides
in a way that has the potential to
improve research efficiency and
productivity. The Gel Company,
which commercially developed the
device, released the new product in
May 2007.
Haab’s lab at Van Andel Institute,
the Laboratory of Cancer
Immunodiagnostics, has been
using the prototype for over three
years. “We didn’t originally intend
to sell it,” said Haab. “But when we
saw how well it worked, we realized
this product had commercial
potential.”
Scientific researchers partition slides
to test many samples at once. This
process helps to speed up research
and also saves resources.
Haab invented the new slide partitioning method and device
with assistance from David Kruithoff, an engineer now working
at Lifeport, Inc., in Seattle. “I was looking at the commercially
SlideImprinter (top) and imprinted slide (bottom)
available options, and nothing really
worked well,” Haab said. “I thought
a stamp that imprints a hydrophobic
border might be a good solution.”
Kruithoff provided design insight and
suggested using wax for the border
material.
The SlideImprinter, which is 6 x 6 x
10 inches in size, imprints thin wax lines
onto the surface of a slide. This process
creates partitions that segregate the
slide into several “wells.” Researchers
can choose from four standard stamps
or a custom design depending on how
many wells they want to create. The
device immerses the stamp in a wax
bath, inserts a slide into a cartridge
over the bath, and then lifts the stamp
to meet the slide, imprinting wax
lines. The wax lines are thin enough
for the slide to be used in a microarray
scanner and are inert to most chemical
processes so they will not dissolve
easily or interfere with experiments.
Haab, who has shared information about the SlideImprinter with
colleagues at several scientific meetings and seminars, said he has
found strong interest in the device within the research community.
VARI Brian
Haab, Ph.D.
www.vai.org
15