Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The new Submersible FlowCAM particle and cell imaging and analysis system from water quality instrumentation manufacturer Fluid Imaging Technologies, Yarmouth, Maine enables scientists and water quality professionals to automatically acquire biological and particle images and data in real-time from remote sensing platforms for continuous, unattended, in-situ monitoring. Deployed on buoys and moorings, aboard autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) or tethered behind research vessels and sampling boats, the automated Submersible FlowCAM takes hi-resolution digital images of individual, waterborne particles and microscopic organisms, measures each one based on dozens of measurement parameters and saves the images and data for identification, analysis and collaborative review. Developed in partnership with Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, the Submersible FlowCAM features patented FlowCAM technology that has been proven in operation by the U.S. Naval Research Labs, U.S. EPA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and in hundreds of installations worldwide for the study of coastal and marine environments, drinking water quality, invasive mussel expansion and a myriad of other marine and freshwater applications.
Introduced recently at Ocean Sciences 2010 in Portland, Ore., the high speed, Submersible FlowCAM detects and images thousands of particles and organisms per minute in real-time to eliminate the need for labor-intensive, manual sampling and off-site laboratory analysis while yielding more accurate, actionable, statistically significant data than microscopy. Designed for long-term deployment, the Submersible FlowCAM permits on-the-fly adjustments to the sampling depth, location and target microorganisms, for example, without returning to shore or experiencing delays for lab results. Operated remotely with the results accessed online, the new FlowCAM particle analyzer comes pre-loaded with the company’s proprietary VisualSpreadsheet© analysis software and its advanced image recognition capabilities for automatically identifying target particles and organisms.
Fluid Imaging Technologies