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> Does Anyone know of an "economical" system that will allow one to directly
> ACQUIRE flow cytometry data (from a BD machine) using any PC?
> I'd also like to be able to sort. (Software compensation and ratios)
Dennis:
There now is available a data acquistion system for the FACScan, FACStar
and FACStar plus which has full control of the flow cytometer from the
PC. This software works under Windows 3.1 and requires no modifications
or addition of boards to the BD flow cytometer or the PC. The design is
very clever. An interface box connects to the GPIO port on the back of
the BD flow cytometer(where the H/P computer plugs in). The interface
box is then plugged into the parallel port of the PC. Inside the
interface box is a 68000 processor with a half meg FIFO buffer. Windows
is called up on the PC and the data acquisition software is loaded as
a Windows application. When the data acquistion software is called up,
you are able to access all controls including sorting windows on the BD flow
cytometer. On the PC, you create a group of dot plots and histogram plots
like you were analyzing list mode data except you click a button on the screen
and the data gets sucked from the flow cytometer into the Windows data
acquisition software on the PC. List mode files can be generated, data
gated, statistics generated, all the usual necessary data acqusition
things.
Because the interface box has its own processor and FIFO, when Windows
takes a coffe break to handle other tasks, the flow data is not lost.
I have acquired data in the backround on the PC while typing in Word for
Windows.
This product was just premiered at the Lake Placid ISAC meeting and is
available from Phoenix Flow Systems.
A complete system w/o PC, i.e., manuals, interface box and software for the
FACScan costs $7500.
C. Kevin Becker
Phoenix Flow Systems, Inc.
San Diego, CA, 92121
(619) 453-5095
FAX (619) 259-5268
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