Particle Size and Shape Analysis Using Flow Imaging Microscopy

One of the key advantages of flow imaging microscopy with FlowCam is that particle measurements are calculated directly from an image of the particle. Since flow imaging microscopy is designed with fixed optics at known magnifications, distance measurements on the image can be directly converted to real distance measurements on the object. Flow imaging systems do not have to make any assumptions about a particle’s size and shape because they measure multiple particle properties directly from an image.

Other particle analysis systems, such as light obscuration, laser diffraction, and light scattering, need to make assumptions about the physical dimensions of the particle. These techniques measure a signal proportional to a physical dimension and convert that signal to a value representing the number of particles and corresponding particle size distribution in the sample. In addition, many of these analytical techniques only measure ensemble (bulk) properties, i.e., the properties of the overall population distribution.

The ultimate benefit of performing flow imaging microscopy with a FlowCam imaging system is that you can visualize single particles and calculate desired sample properties based directly on individual particle images.