Core Technology Analysis

Breaking the Boundaries Between Flow Cytometer and Microscope with Simplicity

High-speed Detection × Full-spectrum Imaging × Label-free Imaging = LASE Technology

Scroll Down
01 — Technology Approach

From "Pulse Signals" to
"Scanning Imaging"

Traditional Flow vs. LASE Technology Approach

Traditional Flow Cytometers:

  • Large bar-shaped laser excitation (e.g., 10μm × 80μm)
  • Records the integrated pulse signal of an entire cell
The LASE Technology proposes a wholly new approach: constructing a linear array of laser spots to perform point-by-point spatial scanning of high-speed flowing cells, and encodes cell images into the detector's time-domain signals.

This means:

  • Cells still flow at several meters per second
  • Clear 2D images are obtained for every detection channel
  • While maintaining high-throughput detection capability

Compatible with both label-free and fluorescence imaging, combined with spectral detection modules, the LASE Technology enables unprecedented spectral imaging detection, with every spectral channel capable of imaging. The imaging process is similar to Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy. It requires no complex "computational imaging" procedure.

LASE Device

Imaging flow cytometry using linear array spot excitation. Device 1, no. 6 (2023).

02
02 — Performance Metrics

Spectral Imaging:
A New Peak of High Throughput
and High Content

Spatial Resolution and High Throughput, No Longer a Trade-off

1.2μm
Spatial Resolution
10× / NA 0.3
0.6 μm
Spatial Resolution
20× / NA 0.8
5K-10K
Detection Throughput
EVENTS / S
Laser Configurations
2 – 5
Fluorescence Imaging Channels
24 – 68
Label-free Imaging Channels
≥2
Three-in-One
1 = 3
03 — Core Mechanism

LASE Core Mechanism

LASE stands for Linear Array Spot Excitation. Using a diffractive optical element (DOE), a laser is reshaped into an array of dozens of evenly spaced light spots, each only 1 micron—far smaller than a cell. When cells flow at high speed through the spot array:

  • Each spot sequentially scans different positions of a cell
  • Detectors record the cell's Fluorescence, Scattering, and Transmission signals
  • Signals are decomposed by time sequence and stitched into cell images
No mechanical scanning, no high-speed cameras, no complex encoding/decoding—simply changing the illumination spot pattern enables spatial scanning imaging of moving cells. The imaging mechanism is homologous to Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.
04 — Spectral Imaging

From "Multi-Parameter Detection" to
"Full Spectral Imaging Analysis"

The LASE architecture natively supports multi-laser detection and full spectral imaging. Simply add a DOE to each laser and equip corresponding spectral detection modules to achieve multi-laser excitation spectral imaging flow detection -- every spectral channel can independently image, and every spatial position of the cell contains complete spectral information.

Thus, combining the molecular detection capacity of spectral flow with the spatial resolution of imaging flow, precisely depicting the spatial distribution of each molecule, achieving dual optimization and deep fusion of molecular and morphological dimensions.
Technology Evolution Four-Quadrant Chart
Technological Evolution of Flow Cytometer →

LASE Opens a New Dimension in Single-Cell Analysis