Countess™ 3 Automated Cell Counter

The Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter is a brightfield cell counter equipped with an advanced machine-learning algorithm, ruggedized optics, fully-automated focus and lighting, and image analysis software. This benchtop cell counting system is designed for rapid automated cell counting and viability measurement of primary and immortalized cell samples to prepare cells for downstream analysis and for routine cell culture passaging.

Features of the Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter include:

• Accuracy—highly accurate machine-learning algorithm applied to automated cell counting, eliminates the subjectivity of manual cell counting and user-to-user variability
• Time savings—counts live and dead cells, measures viability, calculates percent cell aggregates, and reports average cell size with a single touch in about 20 seconds
• Convenience—requires no cleaning, routine maintenance, or calibration; flush-mounted high-resolution capacitive touchscreen and simple user interface provide quick startup, require minimal training, and offer automatic saving of data to USB or cloud
• Flexibility—compatible with both disposable and reusable cell counting chamber slides

The Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter works in two simple steps:

1. Mix 10 μL of sample with 10 μL of trypan blue and pipet into a disposable or reusable Countess chamber slide.
2. Insert the slide into the instrument. Rapid Capture and Auto-Save modes allow automated cell counting with a single touch. Focus, lighting, and file saving are executed automatically.

Obtain accurate cell counts

The Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter uses trypan blue staining combined with auto-focus and lighting driven by a machine-learning image analysis algorithm to obtain accurate cell and viability counts. The measurement range extends from 1 x 10⁴ to 1 x 10⁷ cells/mL (the optimal range is 1 x 10⁵ to 4 x 10⁶ cells/mL), which is broader than that of a hemocytometer.

Transfer data and images to your PC or cloud

Using the USB port on the Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter and any USB drive, you can save your cell count results and images and transfer them to your PC. For your convenience, a USB drive is supplied with the Countess 3 instrument, and a WiFi dongle is available.

Improve downstream single-cell analysis

Minimizing cell aggregates is crucial for RNA sequencing applications to ensure that individual cells are partitioned and barcoded during the single-cell library preparation process. For optimal single-cell data output, the percent cell aggregates on the Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter can be used to confirm that the starting sample has <5% aggregates before performing downstream single-cell analysis.

The Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter can be purchased as the instrument (Cat. No. AMQAX2000) or a variety of packages bundled with additional accessories and extended warranties:

• Countess 3 Starter Package (Cat. No. A49865) which includes:
  • Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter
  • Reusable slide
  • 500 disposable slides with trypan blue

Extended warranty instrument and starter packages

The Countess 3 Automated Cell Counter comes with a standard 1-year warranty. Keep your cell counter up and running with the addition of a 3-year extended warranty that covers all costs for shipping, parts, and labor for repairs. Countess 3 instrument and Starter Packages are available with two different types of extended warranty packages:

• Rapid Exchange (REX) Extended Warranty (3 years)—replacement shipped out in 1 business day for labs with critical timelines
  • Available with the instrument only (Cat. No. A49862) and the Countess 3 Starter Package (Cat. No. A50298)
• AB Repair Center (ABRC) Extended Warranty (3 years)—instrument repaired and returned in ~3 weeks for regulated labs required to maintain asset tagging consistency (loaner instrument shipped within 1 business day with upgrade to an ABRC Support Plus contract)
  • Available with the instrument only (Cat. No. A49891) and the Countess 3 Starter Package (Cat. No. A50302)

21 CFR Part 11 Software Module

The Countess 3 21 CFR Part 11 Software Module is for use with the Countess 3 and Countess 3 FL automated cell counters and supports compliance with 21 CFR Part 11 FDA guidelines for security, auditing, and electronic (SAE) signatures using an SAE administration console. The 21 CFR Part 11 software can be purchased separately (Cat. No. A51025).