Do you believe that image is everything? Well, you can debate the answer to that question during an all-new technical program at Pittcon 2008 on particle imaging. Expert Lew Brown of Fluid Imaging Technologies, Yarmouth, ME, will demonstrate the latest methods for accurately identifying different particle types within a heterogeneous solution including troublesome particles with vastly different shapes that share the same equivalent spherical diameter. Developed for lab managers, chemical engineers, QA/QC managers, and water quality professionals among others, Brown's presentation promises to reveal how combining sophisticated pattern recognition technology with an automated particle imaging system provides the ability to visually characterize particles faster than ever before while yielding highly accurate data for highly actionable analysis. Brown, a perennial Pittcon presenter, plans to illustrate these particle analysis advances using actual images of yeast at several stages in the fermentation process and of agglomerates to verify whether they are truly agglomerates, oversized particles or impurities, among other images such as algal cells. The images to be shown were imaged by FlowCAM, a patented particle imaging and analysis system that automatically takes hi-res digital images of each particle in a fluid sample, discrete or in situ, and saves them in an image library for analysis and pattern recognition. The technical program, Session 1920, "Process Analytical Techniques," will be held on March 5.

More information is available by contacting Brown at lew@fluidimaging.com.