ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axion BioSystems, creator of the Maestro™ microelectrode array (MEA) platform, announces designation as a New Product Award winner at the recent Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening annual meeting (SLAS2016) in San Diego, California. Two Axion products, Lumos™ high-throughput optical stimulation device, and Maestro APEX™ the industry’s first robotic platform for automation of MEA assays, competed against 40 product submissions. Together, they earned best in show based on market opportunity, impact, originality and proof of concept.
“Lumos represents the marriage of two powerful techniques,” said Jim Ross, PhD, Axion Chief Technology Officer, “functional activity assays on the Maestro and optogenetics - optical control of cellular activity through the use of light-sensitive proteins. Lumos provides unprecedented control over cellular behavior while recording real-time responses of neural and cardiomyocyte networks. All 48 wells can be independently and simultaneously controlled, a true advancement in the in vitro optogenetics field.
“Maestro APEX is the first dedicated robotic platform for the preparation, maintenance, and execution of MEA plates. We partnered with laboratory automation leader Hamilton Robotics to build an automated platform around the Maestro system and paired it with an environmentally controlled incubator enabling greater throughput, enhanced accuracy, and true walk-away capability. It’s an ideal tool to address upcoming requirements of the Food and Drug Administration’s Comprehensive in vitro Pro-Arrhythmia (CiPA) initiative.”
Axion President and CEO, Thomas O’Brien, said, “We have an immensely talented team in all facets of our organization. One of our company’s missions is to bring innovative, easy-to-use products to the scientific community thereby enabling greater discoveries. Though recently introduced, both are already in place for use in Safety Pharmacology, Drug Discovery and basic research. To be recognized by our peers for enabling that work is quite an honor.”
About Axion BioSystems
Axion BioSystems is the leader in microelectrode array (MEA) data acquisition and analysis. With the Maestro MEA platform, functional activity assays on neural or cardiomyocyte cell networks are easily performed on the benchtop facilitating investigations in neurotoxicology, cardiac safety, in vitro disease modeling, and drug discovery. To learn more about microelectrode array technology and applications, including Lumos and Maestro APEX, please visit www.axionbio.com.
