ColCount™
A colony counter for adherent mammalian cell colony forming assays

Product overview
ColCount™ is a semi-automated platform for the rapid detection, counting and characterization of stained, adherent mammalian cell colonies in classic '2-D' colony forming assays in flasks and Petri dishes.

Gains in throughput and objectivity
ColCount is the first system of its kind to provide a fast, reliable and objective alternative to manual counting of stained, adherent mammalian cell colonies. Total measurement time, including plate loading and single-click image acquisition and analysis, is typically less than 15 seconds per plate.

With an unrivalled ability to count irregular, fuzzy and overlapping colonies typical of mammalian cell growth, ColCount not only dramatically reduces counting time but is also more reliable. By applying constant counting parameters, the results are objective, consistent and less variable than those obtained by manual counting. ColCount helps to eliminate human error due to subjective interpretation, bias or plain fatigue due to the tedium of manual colony counting.

The unique processing capabilities of the ColCount are reflected in its compact and ergonomic design. Using a proprietary CHARM image processing algorithm, ColCount provides unsurpassed colony detection capabilities including advanced, preview-able control over detection sensitivity, colony size thresholding and artifact suppression.

Wide-angle optics provide coverage over the entire flask or dish, including edges and corners; and electro-luminescent trans-illumination is used to create maximal contrast with stains such as Crystal Violet or Methyl Blue.

Single, integrated platform for colony counting
ColCount represents an all-in-one solution conceived specifically to permit the user to go from colony samples to colony counts & statistics at the click of a button. Colonies are imaged, images transferred, processed & characterized and the data collated/exported from within a single, integrated hardware/software platform. Gone is the need to manually count colonies or the unsatisfactory alternative of imaging samples on one device, then transferring these to and processing them within an independent, compromised image analysis package.

Importantly, the integrated approach also permits the archiving to disk of all raw colony images, supporting full-functionality, ‘off-line’ reprocessing even where the original samples are no longer available.

Flexible and versatile, yet powerful
ColCount is compatible with all popular cultureware, including T-type flasks, Petri dishes and 6-well plates. The dimensions of the counting area are fully customisable using integrated image editing tools.

And ColCount does more than merely output a colony count per dish/flask; it additionally provides a range of colony ‘statistics’, including mean colony diameter, area, density and ‘distance-to-nearest-neighbour’. At the touch of a button these can be previewed in the form of histograms, providing the user with hitherto unavailable information such as colony size distribution per plate.

Try ColCount for yourself
Our Sales Team will gladly discuss your requirements and assist in providing any further information you require. Live ‘webinar’ introductions can be held at any time, while on-site demonstrations may also be available, depending on your geographical location.