License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements (Details Textual)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) Agreement	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)
License Agreements Research Collaborations And Development Agreements [Line Items]
Number of license agreements | Agreement	5
Royalty expense	$ 69,245	$ 69,854
Annual future minimum royalty payments due	250,000
Collaborations revenue	21,164	$ 0
License Agreement with Hitachi [Member]
License Agreements Research Collaborations And Development Agreements [Line Items]
Collaborations revenue	$ 6,164
FISH Product Line [Member]
License Agreements Research Collaborations And Development Agreements [Line Items]
Number of license agreements | Agreement	2
Argus and MapIt Product Lines [Member]
License Agreements Research Collaborations And Development Agreements [Line Items]
Number of license agreements | Agreement	3