Reviews

Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics Clinitek 50 Analyzer
Clinitek 50, a semiquantitative portable urine analyzer is a small, easy and reliable urine analyzer available from Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics. This instrument analyzes one urine sample at a time and approximately 60 samples per hours. It takes 5 seconds to dip and blot the reagent strip and place it on the instrument. ...
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Cryo-Star HM 560 Cryostat From MICROM International
The Microm HM560 is a cryostat with electronic temperature control down to -35°C. It also offers fast freezing with Peltier down to -55°C and a spacious, easy-to-clean cooling chamber. We chose this model for our laboratory after a meticulous search for the best cryostat available. We tested several models and finally opted for the Microm HM 560 cryostat without hesitation; I am pleased to detail its advantages. ...
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ITC Hemochron Response
The Hemochron Response is designed to be a point-of-care whole blood coagulation monitoring instrument. The instrument includes 2 test tube sample wells (that can be used simultaneously), a bright easy-to-read screen, an internal printer, an internal rechargeable battery, very thorough patient and QC data management features, and memory capacity to store 600 patient results per well and 300 QC results per well. The Hemochron Response has the ability to test for 10 different coagulation parameters; these include 3 different types of ACT’s, APTT, PT, TT, HNTT, HiTT, Fibrinogen and Protamine Dose Assay (each test is sold separately)....
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96-Well GeneAmp® PCR System 9700
With the vast number of nucleic acid manipulations that are necessary in biomedical research, it is crucial for a researcher to have a reliable thermal cycler. The GeneAmp® PCR System 9700 from Applied Biosystems thoroughly fulfills this role. It is one of the most versatile and affordable thermal cyclers currently on the market....
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Olympus AU400 Clinical Chemistry Analyzer
Automation in the field of diagnostics has lead to a revolution in the hardware and software of clinical chemistry analyzers, also called auto analyzers. In the field of diagnostics, a clinician or pathologist needs quick, reportable and accurate results, which are cost effective too! In this modern era, several models are available which serve this purpose. ...
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ABI's 3730xl DNA Analyzer
Any scientist that has used the traditional Sanger DNA sequencing method is aware that the process is tedious, time consuming and messy due to the involvement of radioisotopes and harsh chemicals. The ABI 3730xl DNA Analyzer offers an alternative in the form of a fully automated system. The protocol involves a PCR reaction using a very robust Mastermix (BigDye from Applied Biosystems), reaction purification and plate loading on the 3730xl. The instrument does all subsequent analysis, requiring only operator loading of 96-well plates. ...
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Gilson Pipetman Ultra Multichannel
The Gilson Pipetman Ultra Multichannel is a manual, 8 or 12-channel pipette with electronic display and volume adjustment for liquid handling of volumes from 20 to 300μl. We have purchased the 12-channel pipette, although in most cases an 8-channel pipette will not be of significant disadvantage, especially if used with standard 96-well plates....
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Radiesse by BioForm Medical
Radiesse is a semi-permanent dermal volumizer approved for subcutaneous use in patients with oromaxillofacial defects, and in radiological and vocal cord procedures. It has recently become popular for use in cosmetic non-surgical enhancements of the face and will soon be FDA approved for this indication....
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SST Medpor Implant, Porex, Inc.
The SST spherical implant is made of porous polyethylene and is used for volume replacement after enucleations. It is different from the traditional Medpor spherical implant in that it has eight premade holes on the anterior surface so that the four rectus muscles can be attached directly to the implant, using the holes for suture placement. ...
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Applied Biosystems' 3130 and 3130xl Genetic Analyzers
The ABI 3130 and 3130xl Genetic Analyzers are the newest in a range of analyzers produced by ABI. These machines use capillary electrophoresis, which is a significant advantage over slab-gel based technologies. Rather than risking inconsistency as a result of pouring slab-gels, a simple capillary array is fit into the slots available. ...
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BACS Sticky Floormat for Prevention of Contamination in DNA Laboratories
There are problems associated with some of the products available for maintaining an uncontaminated environment and decontamination of the lab. Extensive use of bleach on the floors and benches produces a very strong odor and can be hazardous to your health if exposed to it for long periods of time. Overhead UV lighting causes degradation of plastic material, some of which can be quite expensive such as entire pipette sets, computer monitor casings etc. Thus better alternatives or added measures are needed. One such alternative is the BACS sticky floormat to assist in preventing some contamination in DNA laboratories. ...
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The SPOT RT KE color 3-Shot CCD Camera from Diagnostic Instruments
The lab that I work in recently set up a microscope suite for high quality imaging of cell and tissue samples prepared mainly for immuno-staining and morphologic analysis. The suite is composed of a Leica DM4000 B Microscope, an EXFO X-Cite illumination system and a SPOT RT KE 3-shot color camera with accompanying SPOT software from Diagnostic Instruments (www.diaginc.com). This set-up has proven to be extremely popular and easy to use for both fluorescence and light microscopy. ...
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Celera Diagnostics' Viroseq HIV-1 Genotyping System
In the fight against AIDS, viral drug-resistance tests are powerful instruments to aid physicians in choosing the most suitable treatment for each patient. Different kinds of assays are available: genotypic, phenotypic or mixed. The Viroseq system is an HIV-1 drug resistance genotype test and is one of only two kits in this class approved by FDA for clinical use. ...
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The Eppendorf MiniSpin Plus
The idea behind the Eppendorf MiniSpin Plus was to create an inexpensive, small, quiet, robust centrifuge that could fill the role of traditional desktop centrifuges. Of course, the price of these units played a large part in our purchasing decision – they are relatively inexpensive when compared to many other similar units. The major factor in our purchase of these instruments, however, was the size and spin-up/spin-down speed. ...
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Molecular Devices' SPECTRA Microplate Reader
The Spectra microplate reader is fully-automated and microprocessor-controlled, measuring the light absorbance (or optical density) of samples in a 96-well format (for our needs). Components of the reader include a halogen lamp for the light source, a 2x16 digit LCD display and a 20-key membrane keyboard. The reader is very compact, measuring 28.5 cm x 32 cm x 17 cm, weighs only 8 kg and can easily be connected to a printer....
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