Colony imager ColonyCam® Silhouette

Overview
ColonyCam Silhouette is a bench-top, automation-compatible multi‑well plate imager for backlit, high‑resolution imaging of microbial colonies in multi‑well and deep‑well plates and 90 mm Petri dishes. It captures uniform, high‑contrast images while minimizing perspective distortion and reflections from lids, enabling consistent downstream image analysis.

Key features

• Backlit illumination for maximized contrast and reduced glare
• Optical design that images straight down each well to minimize perspective distortion
• Compatible with multi‑well (24‑well, 48‑well), deep‑well plates, single‑well PlusPlates and 90 mm Petri dishes
• Uniform illumination across the plate for consistent phenotyping and automated analysis
• Fast acquisition: entire plate imaged in a single photo (no per‑well scanning)
• Extensible software platform allowing future add‑ons (colony counting, CFU calculations, etc.)

Technical approach and development
The optical configuration was developed with academic collaborators to enable simultaneous straight‑down imaging of all wells, producing crisp colony images while excluding well walls. The system is in active development and iterated using prototype feedback from laboratory scientists to refine imaging performance and automation integration.

Applications

• High‑throughput screening (HTS) of microbial libraries
• Total viable count (TVC) for water and environmental testing
• Spot assays, serial dilution and CFU counting workflows
• PCR/transformation viability and growth assays
• Directed evolution and genetic engineering pipelines (including CRISPR/Cas workflows)
• Rapid plate reading and phenotyping across full plates
• Imaging of agar‑based assays and Petri‑dish bio‑art documentation

Technical specifications

• Imaging mode: backlit, high‑resolution photography
• Supported plate types: multi‑well (24‑, 48‑well), deep‑well plates, single‑well PlusPlates, 90 mm Petri dishes
• Illumination: uniform backlighting to minimize glare and lid reflections
• Optics: simultaneous straight‑down imaging of every well to minimize perspective distortion
• Throughput: single‑photo capture of entire plate (fast plate imaging)
• Software/analysis: extensible platform; colony counting and CFU analysis planned as add‑on modules
• Product status: in development (prototype/discovery community stage)