In April 2013, we were delighted to be able to hand over an xCelligence machine to the School of Biosciences at the University of Kent. This equipment enables label-free, real-time monitoring of cell proliferation, cell size/morphology, cell attachment quality, and cell invasion/migration. By continuously providing this data in the short (minutes to hours) and long (days to weeks) time regimes, the real-time cell analysis capability of this equipment provides a phenotypic view of cellular behaviour at an unprecedented level of detail.
As reported by the Professor of Cell Biology, "This is an incredible machine. It spares us months of manual work, provides data of unprecedented detail and quality, and enables so many important analyses that we were not able to perform previously. Now that we have it, it is unimaginable how we were able to live without it."
During the course of the work on the throat cancer project, the equipment proved its worth by monitoring the growth of biofilms and hence demonstrating the level of anti fungal treatment that was required to prevent excessive colonisation of the larynx prosthesis.
How much did this equipment cost?
By purchasing a second hand piece of equipment the costs were kept at £16,500.
How was the purchase celebrated by Kent Cancer Trust?
We held a formal handover session with Lady Kingsdown, our Vice President, staff and students as well as some of our trustees, as shown in the following photograph: