Ethica M Organ-on-a-chip contractility. At scale

Automated, high-throughput solution for measuring 3D contractility in engineered tissues.

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Human-Relevant Biology. At Scale.

Ethica M is an automated, high-throughput organ-on-a-chip solution for measuring 3D contractility in engineered heart and muscle tissues.

Designed to fit into standard research workflows, Ethica M combines automated tissue handling, integrated pacing and optical contractility measurement to generate reproducible functional data at scale.

With up to 90% fewer cells per tissue, Ethica M helps researchers scale functional tissue research while reducing manual complexity and cell requirements.

Automated. Scalable. Human-relevant.

Automated high-throughput solution

Ethica M is an innovative organ-on-a-chip (OoC) solution designed to revolutionize how we model human tissue function and test drug effects. By combining intelligent automation with high-throughput capability and dramatically lower cell use, Ethica M allows you to generate functional, predictive 3D tissue data—faster, more reproducibly, and more cost-effectively.

Built in collaboration with leading pharma and academic experts, Ethica M enables researchers to replicate human cardiac and skeletal muscle function—complete with real-time contractility readouts that mirror physiological responses.

Automated Preparation, Seeding & Maturation
High Throughput
Lowest Cell Usage

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Ethica M comes fully integrated with:

MChip consumables for efficient 3D tissue generation
Ready-to-use cell and gel kits for reproducible experiments
Pipetting robot for automated gel and cell dispensing
High-precision optical gantry for real-time imaging and analysis
Analyzer software with assay scheduling and data visualization
Sophion application scientist and global one-point-of-contact service agreement

Whether you’re screening compounds, modeling disease, or validating cardiac safety, Ethica M delivers a powerful new standard in muscle contractility assays—bridging cutting-edge automation with human physiology.

Designed to scale human-relevant tissue research

Contractility technology has shown promise for years, but limitations in throughput, cell requirements and workflow complexity have made it difficult to adopt at scale. Drawing on Sophion’s expertise in automation and high-throughput systems, Ethica M is designed to make functional 3D tissue research more scalable, reproducible and accessible.

Built in collaboration with leading pharma and academic experts, Ethica M enables researchers to measure contractile function in engineered cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues, generating real-time functional data through a streamlined, automated workflow.

Automated preparation, seeding & maturation
High throughput with flexible assay workflows
Up to 90% fewer cells per tissue
Real-time contractility measurements

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Up to 90% fewer cells. More data from limited cell sources.

Each Ethica MChip well uses approximately 45,000 cells, compared with the 300,000–500,000 cells typically required by other systems. Lower cell requirements can reduce assay costs and extend the use of rare or limited cell sources, making high-throughput functional tissue research more accessible.

From cells to contractility data — automatically

Ethica M integrates tissue preparation, maturation, pacing, optical measurement and analysis into one high-throughput workflow. Automated handling reduces manual intervention and user variability, helping researchers generate consistent, reproducible functional data at scale.

How it works
A streamlined workflow takes engineered tissues from preparation to functional measurement:

Mix
Easy cell and gel mixing
Seed
Precise cell/gel seeding
Mature
Controlled tissue maturation with integrated pacing
Measure & analyze
Automated contractility measurement and data analysis

What it measures
Ethica M measures real-time contractile force in 3D engineered tissues, capturing how strongly, quickly and consistently tissues contract and relax.This enables quantitative assessment of functional tissue responses across scalable assays.

Ethica MChip cuts cell use by 90%, offering the lowest cost per data point

The wells in the Ethica MChip use only 45,000 cells, much less than the 300,000–500,000 typically required by other systems. Using fewer cells lowers costs and extends the use of rare or limited cell sources, without compromising data quality or human relevance.

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Scale your experiments confidently with more data, faster

Ehica M delivers what drug discovery needs most: fast, scalable, and human-relevant data. It is a high-throughput solution that gives you earlier, more predictive insights without any trade-offs.

Supports 9 plates simultaneously
Increase experimental capacity and generate more results in less time.
192 tissues per plate with in-well replicas
Redundancy ensures high data density and built-in quality control.
96-well plate format
Fully compatible with existing pharma infrastructure—no need to reinvent workflows.

Supporting the 3Rs in Preclinical Research

Human-relevant in vitro models can contribute to the ongoing evolution of preclinical research and support efforts to Reduce, Refine and Replace animal use where scientifically appropriate.

Reduce
Generate functional data from engineered tissues to help reduce reliance on animal studies.

Refine
Add human-relevant functional insights to support more informed safety and efficacy decisions.

Replace
Support the development and adoption of alternative in vitro approaches where they can provide suitable evidence.

Join the future of contractility research – a more human-relevant approach to drug development

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