{"id":63340,"date":"2016-06-26T09:30:27","date_gmt":"2016-06-26T07:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e52.nl\/?p=63340"},"modified":"2016-06-26T09:30:27","modified_gmt":"2016-06-26T07:30:27","slug":"no-more-counting-cells-as-a-full-time-job-thanks-to-cytosmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/no-more-counting-cells-as-a-full-time-job-thanks-to-cytosmart\/","title":{"rendered":"No more counting cells as a full time job, thanks to CytoSMART"},"content":{"rendered":"

Culturing biological cells is still a very old fashioned process,\u00a0CytoSMART CEO Joffry Maltha found out. “We still have to count them in the lab, one by one, with a clicker in your\u00a0hand, to know how many cells there are in a\u00a0container. In fact, this is\u00a0a full-time job for some in our team.” But not for long, as far as Maltha is concerned. CytoSMART is an Eindhoven company that is trying to make research easier, cheaper and faster for biologists.6<\/p>\n

The start of the company, which is located at\u00a0the TU\/e campus, was caused by a\u00a0failed stem cell research. “Simply said, a stemm cell is a cell\u00a0that hasn’t\u00a0decided yet what kind of cell it\u00a0wants to be. Thus, you can use them for many purposes. In 2012, our research failed\u00a0after\u00a0research laboratory workers forgot to\u00a0perform inspections during the weekend. The cells did\u00a0not endure without power. That would have been\u00a0different if we had\u00a0monitored the cells in real time.”<\/p>\n

In the car back from the lab in Denmark Maltha asked his colleagues how they would be able to monitor all the cells in real time. “Everything is possible with your cellphone these days. So why not keep track of\u00a0the growth of cells? No company made these kind of microscopes and so we went for it yourself.”<\/p>\n

Cloud<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"the<\/a>
the CytoSMART microscope<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first product they put on the market, was a small microscope that uses the cloud. “It includes photographs and keeps track of temperature and humidity.” This information is sent to the company’s Cloud. All pictures are shown in succession so\u00a0you can see how the cells are dividing,\u00a0moving, and whether they are still alive. “This you can watch anywhere now. This not only makes work easier, but also much more accurate.”<\/p>\n