See Press Release on Bureau of Reclamation site here:

Partnership To Muscle In On Invasive Mussel Expansion

Yarmouth, ME: Particle imaging and analysis instrumentation manufacturer Fluid Imaging Technologies, Yarmouth, Maine (www.fluidimaging.com), has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the Bureau of Reclamation to collaborate on the enhancement of instrumentation that automates high-density counting of particles and microorganisms. Focusing on the ability to detect, count and identify invasive mussel veligers, the CRADA agreement enables the Bureau to tap the company’s particle imaging and analysis expertise and its FlowCAM® imaging and cross polarization technologies within a cooperative framework to yield superior instrumentation suited specifically for the detection and enumeration of invasive mussel veligers, according to Bureau of Reclamation Biologist Scott O’Meara. “We’ve been using cross-polarizing microscopy for several years to monitor lakes and rivers for invasive mussel veligers, but with upwards of 10,000 veligers in some of our samples and 30 samples per day, we saw the advantages of an automated process,” says O’Meara, a specialist in invasive species. “Reclamation attended a seminar held at the City of Westminster (Colorado) and the capabilities of the FlowCAM demonstrated potential for future water analysis. We’re excited about developing the full potential of the technology in cooperation with Fluid Imaging Technologies.”

Processing thousands of images per minute, the FlowCAM automatically detects particles and microorganisms in a fluid sample, takes high-resolution, digital images of each one, measures size, length, width, shape, fluorescence and other parameters in real time and saves the data for analysis and collaborative review. Its optional cross polarization technology reveals birefringent particles and cells that would otherwise remain invisible and undetectable or unclear under ordinary light conditions. The veliger states of zebra and quagga mussels, silica, plastics, ceramics, fibers, pigments, sugars, starches, spices, bone and pharmaceuticals are among the particles and microorganisms that become possible or easier to detect and measure with the cross polarization technology. O’Meara anticipates the production of a prototype within the year.

For more information, contact Lew Brown, Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc.; 65 Forest Falls Drive, Yarmouth, ME 04096; 207.846.6100.; Fax 207.846.6110; www.fluidimaging.com; lew@fluidimaging.com.