Looking for feedback on 3M Petrifilm Reader

We are exploring the possibility of acquiring a 3M petrifilm plate reader.  I was wondering if anyone currently using this (or have used it in the past) can provide me with feedback pertaining to this equipment?   

Thanks,

Neil

Dear CN -

     I don't have personal experience, but I can't name a poultry company lab that I know of that uses the reader. It is essentially a fancy camera hooked to a PC that has software to 'count the dots'. I would assume that 3M can provide study data showing the accuracy, as well as false positive & false negative rates.

     When I looked at the unit several years ago, the photos taken of the plates could be reviewed by a person and any over/under counts corrected. However, this does raise the question of if you have actually gained anything in accuracy or time management.

CN,

We have one of those units and it is great piece of equipment to have in your Lab. The accuracy of the unit is not so bad. We find this unit to be very efficient because it gives you readings within seconds.

God Luck,

QAM Systems

We have been using one in our lab for many years and the staff love it. No complaints. You get calibration cards to run on the unit before you use each day and then you just feed your films through and get the counts. You need to change the type of film being scanned, ie total plate count, then coliforms etc . You can configure the data to go straight into your LIMS system to minimise data transcription errors. You can also tell it what the dilution rate is and it does the conversion for you as well. If you use lots of Petrifilm you could always ask for it for "free' and costs are re-covered by 3M through the Petrifilm purchase.