Millipore has introduced Scepter, a handheld, automated cell counter at the American Society of Cell Biology Annual Meeting in San Diego.
John Sweeney, vice president of Millipore's life-science business said: 'This handheld device provides researchers with a simple and affordable automated option for counting cells and monitoring the health of their cultures.' Scepter miniaturises Coulter cell-counting technology found in much larger instruments into a portable device the size of an automated pipette.
The instrument contains sophisticated electronics for cell sensing, signal processing and data storage.
A graphical display reports the cell count and average cell volume within 20sec of inserting the tip into a cell-culture sample.
In addition to showing cell counts and average cell volume, the instrument also displays a histogram of cell distribution by volume or diameter.
The histogram can be used to provide an instant snapshot of the health of the culture.
Results can be stored on the instrument or downloaded to a computer.
