Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1999 as a spinoff from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean
Sciences (BLOS) in West Boothbay Harbor, ME. The original FlowCam was developed at Bigelow for
studying plankton in ocean water. An extremely novel concept, the FlowCam was designed to combine the
benefits of digital imaging, flow cytometry, and microscopy into a single instrument.
In April of 2020 Fluid Imaging Technologies was acquired by Yokogawa Electric Corporation, of Kanasawa
Japan, a multinational electrical engineering and software company with businesses based on its
measurement, control, and information technologies. The addition of the FlowCam to the Life Innovation
Business unit of Yokogawa provides for a strategic expansion into the growing biopharmaceutical market.
By the end of 2020, the FlowCam exceeded 1,000 units in service. It is deployed in over 50 countries and
on all seven continents, while ship-based units sail the seven seas in support of critical scientific research.
