FiTrace2
AFM analysis suite for biological samples
Built around the workflows that make day-to-day lab work fast — for proteins, DNA, fibers, and membranes.
What is FiTrace2?
FiTrace2 is a polished AFM (atomic force microscopy) analysis suite focused on biological samples. It loads vendor formats directly, provides smooth interactive viewing of 4k images at 60fps, applies a non-destructive processing pipeline (plane fit, line align, polynomial flatten, scar removal, filters), and offers manual measurement tools that persist with the project file.
Open the project tomorrow and every annotation is exactly where you left it. Auto-trace DNA via TopoStats and edit the result as if you'd drawn it by hand. Save everything as a single self-contained .fitrace HDF5 file.
Download FiTrace2
Windows
Windows 10 or 11
No Python or Visual C++ runtime needed
macOS
Linux
Roadmap: post-v1 release
Key capabilities
Vendor format support
Loads Bruker .spm and .pfc directly via AFMReader. JPK, Asylum/Cypher, Park, and Nanonis formats on the roadmap.
60fps interactive viewer
Pan and zoom 4k AFM images smoothly. PySide6 + pyqtgraph backend keeps every interaction responsive even on high-resolution datasets.
Non-destructive pipeline
Plane fit, line align, polynomial flatten, scar removal, filters — every step is a reversible layer with full undo. Original data is never overwritten.
Persistent measurements
Line profiles, distance/angle/height markers, manual DNA/fiber traces, particle picks, ROIs — all serialized into the project file. Reopen tomorrow, find them exactly where you left them.
Auto DNA tracing
Powered by TopoStats. Auto-traces become editable as if drawn manually — the boundary between automation and hand-tuning disappears.
Self-contained projects
Everything — raw data, processing layers, annotations, traces — saves into a single .fitrace HDF5 file. Email it, archive it, hand it off. No loose sidecars.
How a session looks
Load and view
Drag a Bruker .spm or .pfc file onto the window — or just double-click it in Explorer. The MSI registers FiTrace2 as the default handler. Pan/zoom at 60fps to find what you care about.
Process and measure
Stack reversible processing layers (plane fit, line align, flatten, filters), draw manual traces, drop markers, pick particles. Or run TopoStats auto-tracing and tune the result by hand.
Save and share
Save to a single .fitrace HDF5 project. Reopen it later, hand it to a collaborator, or attach it to a paper — all annotations and processing steps travel with the data.
File formats
Read
.spm— Bruker AFM image.pfc— Bruker PeakForce Capture image.fitrace— FiTrace2 project (HDF5)- JPK, Asylum/Cypher, Park, Nanonis — roadmap
OS integration
- Double-click
.spm/.pfc/.fitraceopens FiTrace2 with the file already loaded - Start menu shortcut and uninstall via Windows Settings → Apps
- Shipped as a single MSI — installs to Program Files, no Python on the host
Roadmap
Alpha — current focus
Topography viewer, manual measurement tools, TopoStats auto-tracing, Bruker .spm/.pfc loader, .fitrace project format, Windows MSI distribution.
Force–distance curve analysis
Spectroscopy mode for force curves: contact-point fitting, indentation, unfolding event detection, batch processing.
QI / force-volume maps + fast-scan video
Map-mode acquisitions and high-speed AFM video, with frame-by-frame tracking that hooks into the same measurement tools.
Beyond
ML-based segmentation, plugin API, additional vendor formats (JPK, Asylum, Park, Nanonis), macOS and Linux installers.
Get started in 3 minutes
Install
Windows: double-click the MSI and follow the wizard. Installs to Program Files; no admin rights needed for the user-mode install.
Open an AFM image
Drag a Bruker .spm or .pfc file onto the window. File associations are wired in by the installer, so you can also just double-click in Explorer.
Trace and save
Run the auto-tracer, fine-tune with manual tools, then save the whole session as a .fitrace project file.
System requirements
Minimum
- • Windows 10 (1809+) or Windows 11, 64-bit
- • 8 GB RAM
- • 2 GB free disk space (installer is ~600 MB; bundled Python runtime expands on install)
- • Integrated GPU acceptable for 1k–2k images
Recommended
- • Windows 11, 64-bit
- • 16 GB RAM (4k images, large TopoStats runs)
- • Discrete GPU for smooth 60fps panning at 4k
- • SSD for faster project file IO
Ships as a self-contained MSI — bundles its own Python runtime, Qt libraries, and scientific stack. No separate Python or Visual C++ runtime install is required on the host.
FiTrace2 is a sibling product of LabTools — built by Filliaux Industries for AFM workflows that the general-purpose suite doesn't cover.