The ADAPT project, funded by the German research grant 161L0235B and carried out by the Institute for Medical Technology (IMTEK) at Albert‑Ludwigs‑University, ran from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2023. Its aim was to create an automated platform for 3‑D microtumor analysis that would reduce the need for animal experiments by using patient‑derived tumor spheroids. The platform consists of three main modules: a Microtumor Placer for precise single‑spheroid deposition, a Spheroid Generator that produces spheroids by the hanging‑drop method, and a Drug Delivery unit that adds test compounds in a fully automated fashion. The project was coordinated by Hahn‑Schickard, which integrated the dosing elements and substrate cooling into an axis system and established the overall process flow. IMTEK focused on the scientific evaluation of single‑placement concepts and on developing a mixing strategy to keep cells in suspension and prevent clumping. In the second half of the project, 2cureX tested the processing platform with human tumor tissue spheroids and applied it to various technical and scientific questions. The planned commercialization after the follow‑up ADAPT‑2 will involve a spin‑off by Hahn‑Schickard and IMTEK, with distribution through 2cureX.

Technically, the Spheroid Generator achieved a highly scalable production process. By varying the drop volume while maintaining a constant cell concentration, the system produced spheroids of different sizes with a size variation of less than 8 %. Within a 45‑minute window, 1 152 drops of 2 µl each were dispensed across three 384‑well microplate arrays, demonstrating a stable throughput. The generation efficiency reached 99.3 ± 0.9 % across three independent runs (n = 3 456 spheroids). The Microtumor Placer introduced a novel aspiration method that selectively captures individual spheroids based on predefined criteria. Fluid‑guiding components are interchangeable, and the reservoir mixing and scanning strategy allows a wide range of spheroid concentrations while leaving no residual material. The placement efficiency was 94.6 ± 4.0 % and the counting accuracy 99.0 ± 1.5 %. The system can deposit up to 20 spheroids per minute and selectively capture spheroids between 30 µm and 200 µm in diameter. The automated Drug Delivery module dispenses droplets between 4 nl and 35 nl, with a standard deviation below 1 %, ensuring precise dosing for downstream assays. Together, these modules provide a fully automated, high‑throughput workflow that meets the demands of pharmaceutical research and personalized medicine, offering miniaturization, standardization, and flexibility while significantly reducing manual labor and increasing statistical robustness.

The collaboration structure ensured that each partner contributed its core expertise: Hahn‑Schickard handled mechanical integration and process design, IMTEK performed the scientific validation and optimization of the single‑placement and mixing concepts, and 2cureX supplied real‑world testing with patient samples and facilitated future commercialization. The project’s timeline, from initial concept to validated modules, aligns with the three‑year funding period, and the results lay the groundwork for a commercial product that will enable more efficient preclinical testing and potentially reduce reliance on animal models.