JENLAB GMBH

Their core work

JenLab is a Berlin-based photonics SME that builds femtosecond-laser multiphoton tomography systems for label-free imaging of living tissue at sub-cellular resolution. Their instruments let clinicians and researchers look inside skin, organoids and other live biological samples without staining or biopsy, which is valuable in dermatology, cancer diagnostics and developmental biology. They sit at the intersection of laser hardware engineering and biomedical application, turning advanced optical physics into devices that doctors and labs can actually use.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Between 2016 and 2018 JenLab was focused on commercialising their multiphoton tomograph for clinical dermatology, coordinating a large SME-2 project on early skin cancer detection. From 2021 onward their role shifts from clinical device vendor to research-imaging partner, with OrganVision pushing the same core technology toward organoids, developmental dynamics and cardiovascular models. The direction is clear: the same femtosecond-laser platform, applied to progressively more complex live biological systems.

They are moving upstream from clinical dermatology devices into research imaging for organoids and dynamic live-tissue models, which opens doors for partnerships in developmental biology, drug screening and cardiovascular research.

How they like to work

JenLab both leads and joins: they coordinated a large SME-driven commercialisation project (LASER-HISTO) and later joined a research consortium (OrganVision) as a technology partner. With seven unique partners across five countries from only two projects, they connect to a fairly broad network for their size. This profile suggests they can run their own projects when the topic is close to their product, but are comfortable playing a specialist instrument-provider role in science-led consortia.

Seven distinct consortium partners across five European countries in just two projects, indicating a compact but internationally distributed network. Anchored in Germany, with reach into research groups elsewhere in the EU.

What sets them apart

JenLab is one of very few European SMEs that actually builds clinical-grade femtosecond multiphoton tomographs rather than just using them. That hardware depth is why research consortia bring them in: they supply a real instrument and the know-how to adapt it, not just a service. For a partner, this means working with a company that can both deliver a CE-relevant medical device and customise imaging platforms for new biological questions.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LASER-HISTO
  JenLab-coordinated SME-2 project worth EUR 2.48M — their flagship effort to push multiphoton tomography into routine skin cancer diagnostics.
• OrganVision
  FET research project extending their multiphoton imaging from skin into organoids and cardiovascular dynamics, marking a clear pivot toward live-systems research.