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MeiLuft

Company

MeiLuft stands for “Meine Luft” – my air: the air each of us breathes in and out. We make visible what has so far been barely measurable in it.

Background: illustration, AI-generated

How it started

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Prof. Dr. Ralph Wystup and his brother Frederik Wystup turned to protection against the smallest particles, such as pathogens. Together with many companies from the Hohenlohe region, they launched the initiative “Hauben4Hohenlohe” and built the prototype of a simple, low-cost protective hood.

At the same time, in a separate project of the two brothers, an idea took shape: to see pathogens directly instead of detecting them through elaborate tests. Rainer Anglett, an experienced founder, joined as the third partner. MeiLuft was founded in 2021.

The idea has grown into a platform for nanoparticles: a compact scanning electron microscope in which the sample does not have to go into a vacuum, with our own electronics and software right down to the beam, and an AI that analyses the images and runs the instrument. One hardware platform, many applications – from industry and the environment to, in the long term, medicine.

The founders

Prof. Dr. Ralph Wystup

Sensor development

Holds a doctorate, a German engineering diploma (Dipl.-Ing.) and an M.Sc. in electrical engineering; head of the electrical engineering programme at IU International University. With around 80 patent applications, he brings deep experience in electrical engineering and physics and is responsible for the electron optics and the physics of the instrument.

Rainer Anglett

Finance

Mathematician and computer scientist, successful for many years with his own companies in IT and management consulting. From several start-ups he knows the pitfalls a young company has to navigate. Board member of the Java User Group Stuttgart e. V.

Frederik Wystup

Software and AI

Computer engineer who founded the software company Xares straight after his studies and steered it towards the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. At MeiLuft he is responsible for software, instrument control and AI.

Laboratory in Künzelsau

Since 2022 we have been doing research in our own laboratory with workshop and office in Künzelsau. It houses scanning electron microscopes, high-vacuum test rigs with turbomolecular pumps and the measuring equipment we use to compare simulation and experiment. Our test microscope scans with our own electronics and software.

Milestones

  1. 2021 First research on the electron-optical sensor and first patents. A transmission electron microscope from the University of Giessen goes into operation for further research. Winner of Hohenlohe4Talents, with an SWR television report on the final. Company founded in September.
  2. 2022 Move into laboratory, workshop and office in Künzelsau. Scanning electron microscopes and high-vacuum test rigs go into operation. New test rig with turbomolecular pumps; a TEM and an atomic force microscope from the University of Stuttgart arrive in the lab. First appearance at Medica.
  3. 2023 Test rig for the reduced electron beam. First model of SNIPS presented at Medica in Düsseldorf, with a visit from Hendrik Wüst, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, and State Secretary Dr Patrick Rapp.
  4. 2024 Positive decision by the German certification body for the research allowance (BSFZ) for a first sub-project.
  5. 2026 Test microscope with our own electronics and software: first images and automatic particle detection.

Support

We thank our partners from industry and science, among them Baden-Württemberg International (BW_i), Start-up BW and aformatik for their support with the AI software.