You may have noticed the new title to our quarterly email newsletter. Our goal is to keep in touch and connect you with interesting and relevant content, stories, and research happening in the world of particle analysis. This time of year we are especially grateful for our FlowCam friends and family. We hope you enjoy a peaceful holiday and joyful new year.
Best Regards,
Cybele Brooks
Marketing Manager
Collage of the Quarter
Pictured above: Yeast cells captured on a FlowCam 8100 at 20x magnification.
Breweries and other food and beverage manufacturers can use the FlowCam to differentiate living yeast cells from dead yeast cells. As shown here, the white and brown cells are living, and the blue cells are dead.
Machine Learning Technology May Help Doctors Identify and Treat Blood Infections in Newborns More Quickly
Fluid Imaging Technologies has entered into an exclusive agreement with the University of Colorado Boulder to commercialize intelligent software that will speed the detection of bacteria in blood and other bodily fluids.
From colorado.edu:
"New research using machine learning technology may help doctors identify pathogens in blood samples in a fraction of the time of current methods, leading to faster deployments of life-saving treatments in patients suffering from sepsis, especially newborns.
While researching injectable therapeutic preparations, Gillespie Professor Theodore Randolph, Assistant Professor Adjunct Christopher Calderon and graduate student Austin Daniels developed a machine learning-based technique for identifying and classifying types of particles found in their formulations. They soon realized that they could use this same analysis method to detect and identify invasive bacteria within blood samples."
Flow Imaging Microscopy Reveals Particles Missed by DLS and NTA
Pictured above: A VisualSpreadsheet collage containing images of protein aggregates, glass shards, silicone oil droplets, and other particulates.
The problem of protein aggregation and presence of extrinsic particles in biopharmaceutical formulations is not a small one. With the improvement of particle analysis technologies, developers are discovering that drug impurities and protein aggregation occur at multiple phases of formulation development, production, and quality control. The goal is to ensure the production of pure and safe biologics that can be shipped and delivered to patients, ensuring their health and safety.
In 2017, William Bernt of Particle Characterization Laboratories, Inc (Novato, CA) published a study as a poster entitled "Screening Biopharmaceuticals with Flow Imaging; Finding the Missing Fraction", where he compared data collected by the FlowCam to data collected by a Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) Instrument and a Nano-Particle Tracking Analysis (NTA) Instrument. Click below to read the full technical note and learn the results of the study.
Maine BioScience Day and the FlowCam at Scarborough Middle School
Thursday, November 21st marked Maine's annual statewide event that aims to get middle school students excited about science. This event provides 6th, 7th, and 8th graders exposure to professionals in science-related fields, with the goal of introducing them to a variety of careers available in the sciences. These volunteers visit local middle school classrooms to talk with students about their own careers in science, their daily tasks, and the opportunities that may be available to them.
Color vs. Black and White: How to Choose a FlowCam Camera
While most imaging particle analyzers only offer gray-scale (black and white) cameras for image acquisition, the FlowCam offers a choice of either gray-scale or color cameras. This article will explain the difference between these two camera choices, and discuss the inherent trade-offs that should be considered when deciding which camera to use. The summary of recommendations can be found below. Keep reading to understand the technology behind this important decision.
FlowCam Identifies Transparent Particles Shedding from Medical Devices
Cardiovascular implants, such as drug coated balloons or drug eluting stents used to treat coronary artery disease are subject to rigorous testing for safety. The assessment of particles released from such devices is essential in the approval of these types of coated medical devices because particles released into the blood stream can increase the risk of emboli. In this study the FlowCam was used to count and analyze particles collected during simulated tests, and these results were compared to light obscuration particle counting.
Pictured above: FlowCam images with different threshold values.
Please welcome two new team members at Fluid Imaging Technologies: Savannah Judge and Gina Angelo.
Savannah Judge joins our team as the new Sales Coordinator for Aquatics. She holds a BS in Environmental Science with a concentration in Marine Science from Colby College, where she was first exposed to the power of the FlowCam! Before coming to FIT, Savannah worked at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute teaching middle school students about marine science and organizing fisheries workshops. Prior to that, Savannah worked at an association in Connecticut doing research on water quality and fish passage in the Housatonic River watershed. Savannah is excited to be putting her experience to use supporting research and monitoring efforts using the FlowCam. Outside work, she loves biking to the beach, baking chocolate chip cookies, and exploring new hikes in and around Maine.
Gina Angelo is our new Technical Customer Support Intern. She hails from South Sudan and is currently a student at USM Portland, class of 2020, majoring in health science. She plans to continue her studies in the healthcare field following graduation. While studying, Gina is also working as a Wellness Associate at the Landing at Cape Elizabeth, an assisted living facility. In Her free time she enjoys volunteer work, South Sudan traditional dancing, and helping out in her community. Gina comes from a very large family with 8 sisters and 3 brothers!
To learn more about a career at Fluid Imaging Technologies, visit our Careers page.
We Want Your Feedback!
We want to hear from you. What content is relevant to you - what topics or FlowCam applications would you like to hear more about? Click below to send us an email and let us know! (Email may be truncated for Gmail users - click the link on bottom left to read the rest of this email)
Pictured (from left to right): Ilmars Labrencis (Director of Operations), Cybele Brooks (Marketing Manager), Nicole Gill (Laboratory Supervisor), Kent Peterson (President/CEO), Chris Sieracki (Founder/Chairman), Margot Sieracki (FlowCam Enthusiast), Harry Nelson (Vice President of Aquatic Markets), Dominic Benfatta (Customer Care Associate)
In October, our team attended a dinner and awards presentation for winners of the 2019 "Best Places to Work in Maine" Awards. Fluid Imaging was named as one of the top ten small companies! The Best Places to Work in Maine program exists to identify and honor the state's best employers based on direct feedback from their employees. We are incredibly proud to work for a company that fosters a sense of belonging, inclusiveness, and employee agency.
Wow - 2020 is almost here! Will you be attending one of the following conferences? Our appearances below are in the books, but we're sure to be adding more events to our schedule. Make sure to visit us to say "hi" and ask us any questions. We'll be happy to see you!