FlowCam - Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies is pleased to announce the return of our Student Equipment Grant Program in 2020. Learn how to apply to win the use of a free FlowCam to conduct your research more quickly and efficiently. Keep reading below to learn about one student's experience participating in the program in 2011.

Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies is pleased to announce the return of our Student Equipment Grant Program in 2020. Learn how to apply to win the use of a free FlowCam to conduct your research more quickly and efficiently. Keep reading below to learn about one student's experience participating in the program in 2016.

Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies is pleased to announce the return of our Student Equipment Grant Program in 2020. Learn how to apply to win the use of a free FlowCam to conduct your research more quickly and efficiently. Keep reading below to learn about one student's experience participating in the program in 2015.

Most organizations who are considering the purchase of a FlowCam ask themselves this question: how does the FlowCam compare to traditional light microscopy? They know that using a FlowCam is faster than using a microscope, and it's possible to produce larger amounts of data, but is the FlowCam as accurate?

Can it correctly calculate biomass, biovolume, and identify organisms? We don't want you to take our word for it, so we have gathered a selection of published studies that explore this very question. Please enjoy these summaries, and feel free to contact us for access to the full papers.

Congratulations to Nicholas Ray from the Fulweiler Lab at Boston University for completing his PhD. and presenting his thesis seminar 'virtually' on Monday, March 23rd. Nick’s work focuses on how the restoration of oyster reefs affects coastal nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions, and drew an audience of over 100 people. We have had the privilege of getting to know Nick in the years since he received a Fluid Imaging Student Research & Travel Grant in 2016.

Aker BioMarine (ABM) is a biotech, fishing, marine research and krill harvesting company. They recently purchased a FlowCam for use on their krill harvesting vessel, the Antarctic Endurance.  They plan to use the FlowCam to monitor the phytoplankton that the krill eat, in order to maintain a sustainable krill fishery.  

Nick Ray (PhD Candidate) and Gretchen McCarthy (Senior) from the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) came to visit our FlowCam lab in Scarborough this week. Nick Ray had used a FlowCam in 2016 in Dr. Robinson Fulweiler's lab when he was a recipient of our Student Equipment Grant. Gretchen has worked in this lab since she was a freshman. She's planning to begin graduate school next year and will focus her studies on fisheries and aquaculture.

A research group with CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography in Kochi, India (https://www.nio.org/), has used the FlowCam^® to provide new evidence that temporal changes in the coastal waters of the Southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) cause size and structure changes in micro-plankton communities. Nutrient-rich coastal areas typically produce large-sized phytoplankton, and nutrient-depleted waters tend to produce smaller phytoplankton. These variations in plankton size can impact the food web, and therefore the economics of the area, where fishing is an important socioeconomic activity. 

We use our Flow Imaging Microscopy blog as a platform to bring you relevant news and academic research, as well as highlighting developments and new uses of FlowCam technology. This year we published 68 blog posts on a large variety of subjects. Keep reading to see the countdown to the most popular post of 2019.

Based on proven FlowCam^® technology, the FlowCam Cyano automatically identifies cyanobacteria from other algae and particles in aquatic samples. Using a patent-pending combination of excitation wavelength, phycocyanin fluorescence measurement, and image recognition software, the system automates what was previously done using manual microscopy. After differentiating the cyanobacteria from the other algae in the sample, VisualSpreadsheet and Advanced Classifier software can be used to further characterize specific types of algae found in the sample using 40+ physical parameters. 

Keep reading to view our new video and see the inner workings of the FlowCam Cyano, as well as a detailed demonstration of VisualSpreadsheet's automated classification process.