The Flowcam-XPL birefringence imaging and analysis system from Fluid Imaging Technologies is said to automatically detect and document the presence or absence of invasive mussels in a water sample.
Fluid Imaging Technologies said the Flowcam-XPL is ideal for the early detection of zebra mussels, quagga mussels and other aquatic invasive species.
It features cross-polarising filters that reveal individual mussel cells at the larval veliger stage when they measure just 50-250um to permit treatment before their growth and entrenchment makes eradication virtually impossible.
The Flowcam-XPL automatically takes a high-resolution digital image of each veliger and saves it with its dataset for analysis and collaborative review.
Onboard image recognition technology differentiates the invasive mussel veligers from particles of non-interest, including from those that exhibit birefringence.
Automating and upgrading the labour-intensive, manual microscopy methods commonly used in attempts to detect invasive mussels, the automated Flowcam-XPL is said to process large sample volumes in minutes to permit rapid mussel veliger detection, even when the population is sparse and otherwise non- or not easily detectable.
In addition, the potential for human error to overlook veligers or detect false positives is eliminated along with slide preparation and worker fatigue while the results are more reliable and actionable.
The cross-polarising filters may be disabled for switching to the automatic detection of algal cells such as cyanobacteria in lakes, reservoirs and other source water.
