Phasefocus Introduces the Livecyte Kinetic Cytometer

Phasefocus has announced the launch of the Livecyte Kinetic Cytometer, an innovative live cell imaging system for the observation of cell phenotype and kinetics. Individual cells and cell populations can be followed without labeling, and several fluorescent measurements can be done for different drug treatments or cell types in a single experiment.

The Livecyte technology allows label-free, non-invasive tracking of cells for days, obtaining relevant quantitative data. This is done by exploiting the cell’s inherent contrast properties. Light travelling through a cell is delayed due to refractive index and thickness variations. The cells’ contrast properties -and then the physical properties – can be calculated from these phase delays.

Individual cells in a population can be followed thanks to an automated cell tracking software, allowing better understanding of the effects of drug treatments, genetic modifications or environmental changes in a mixed cell population. Up to ten characteristics can be tracked for each cell for the whole time course. Low laser power allows long experiments without phototoxicity, which is crucial when working with fragile cells. Large, high resolution fields of view are achieved by decoupling magnification and field of view (ptychography). This allows to track cells for days, keeping them inside the field.

Livecyte’s Cell Analysis Toolbox (CAT) generates morphological data (volume, thickness, sphericity, length/width, surface profile/texture), population metrics (cell count, total dry mass, mitotic index, proliferation rate, confluence) and kinetic data (speed, displacement, euclidean distance, meandering index, instantaneous velocity).

Livecyte features a virtual eyepiece for navigation and selection of regions of interest. Time-lapse assays can be set up. Label-free images can be combined with fluorescence-labelled ones. 4x,10x,20x and 40x lenses are included.

Source: phasefocus