Just to report back on the information I received from users of the FACSCanto:	
basically, all of the replies I received were from people wanting me to pass on
information received or from people who have seen demos.    Here are four
replies that might be helpful to the group:


One reply from BD/Pharmingen in house:	    "it is best characterized as a
digital, Calibur-like system, only with a narrow 9 micron beam. The cuvette and
flow profiles are more Calibur than Aria, but the optics are Aria, if that
helps."


Another reply from BD: "the real advantage of a Canto v Calibur is speed of
acquisition, 10,000 events for 6 colour with

full 6 colour matrix operational, and you can do compensation post acquisition,
5.4 log decades gives you more dynamic range , but you probbly won't need this ,
optics are far better in the red for APC , APC cy7 and PE cy 7, also automated
compensation that really does work. The Canto flow cell as far as I am aware is
totally new (not from the Aria or Calibur) but it still has the optical gel ,
totally automated de gassing and cleaning."


>From a prospective user: "I just visited a lab where they had demo'd the Canto
and the CyAn.  They seemed happy with features both showed well---but like the
ability of the CyAn to read 9-colors + FSC and SSC, and the software for the
CyAn did not need a dongle!  The Canto was very good---they liked it better than
the FacsCaliber they already owned.  This lab is a core research lab----they
need a new analyzer---and want something that can give them good
through-put----and allow their users a range of options.  They have not made
their decision----but price was a consideration as well."


>From a prospective user: "The main thrust of the meeting was to demo the
FACSCanto, and yes I was very impressed. It has got clinical software now and it
looks very user friendly and adequate......


One of the good features of the FACSCanto is that the worklist created by the
sample prep can be imported into the cytometer. ....


The automatic compensation is also amazing. And you can perform comp during or
after acquisition, but this is the same as the FC500. 


I also thought that the resolution of dots on the screen was very good and they
use a wide screen rather than 2 screens. 

Some other features I liked: 


-the BD flow now uses a Window PC. I always thought that they were Mac driven
but apparently not anymore. I think cellquest is Mac, but they keep saying that
their new software is very different from cell quest. 

  -autowash with bleach and dist water on startup and shutdown (although I think
you still have to physically turn it off, and Im not sure if it has autostartup)


-Some future features also include a barcode reader on the samples, and a 96
well plate reader (but they always seem to say that don't they??!!)"



Alice