GE Healthcare’s IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition inspires through the beauty of cells

Voting opens to select the winner of the 2011 IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition

Life scientists encouraged to share cell images with friends and family as an insight into their own work

Chalfont St Giles, UK – 7 November 2011 – GE Healthcare Life Sciences today announced that voting for the 2011 IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition is now open at gelifesciences.com/incellcompetition. Both scientists and the wider public are invited to choose their favourite from 30 shortlisted images submitted by researchers worldwide.

When making their selection, voters can consider the beauty of the image, their interest in the science behind it, or a combination of the two. The winning entrants from each region (Americas, Europe and Asia/Rest of World) will be invited to New York to see their images projected on NBC’s high definition screen in Times Square.

Carmen Laethem, Aerie Pharmaceuticals, a previous winner and a judge on the 2011 shortlisting panel, said, “The images of cells that scientists produce every day on the IN Cell Analyzer can be captivatingly beautiful, some reminiscent of scenes from nature or even evoking the visual style of artists such as Jackson Pollock or Miró. Behind that beauty lies valuable data which enables researchers to, for example, better understand the mechanisms behind disease at the cellular level or conduct early screens for potential new therapies.”

Dr Amr Abid, General Manager of Cell Technologies, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, said, “Once again, we have an exciting range of images from around the world. We’re proud of how they showcase the capabilities of cellular imaging with our IN Cell Analyzer systems but also believe scientists should share the images with friends and family to inspire them with the beauty of cells and provide an accessible introduction to their own research.”

To view the shortlisted images and vote for your favourite, please click here

For updates on the competition follow @geINCell on Twitter.

About the 2011 IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition
The IN Cell Image Competition, supported by BioTechniques, celebrates the outstanding research enabled by the superior image quality that IN Cell Analyzer systems deliver. Voting starts on 7 November and continues online until mid-December. Attendees at two conferences (ASCB, December 3-7, USA and MBSJ, December 13-16, Japan) will also be invited to vote for their favourite. The votes will be combined to select 3 winners, one from each region (Americas, Europe, Asia/Rest of World). Details of the judging panel can be found here and full terms and conditions can be found here. To vote or see images from past winners, go to www.gelifesciences.com/incellcompetition

About GE Healthcare’s IN Cell Analyzer system
IN Cell Analyzer automated high content cell imagers, IN Cell Investigator image analysis software and IN Cell Miner data management software combine to provide a system that represents a total solution for high content sub cellular analysis in research and drug discovery. High-performance hardware, powerful software, and expert instrument and applications support are harmonized to transform the cellular workflow.

IN Cell Analyzer 2000 is a highly flexible, lamp-based high-content imaging instrument impressively enabling for a wide range of assays and techniques. The latest addition to the IN Cell Analyzer family, IN Cell Analyzer 6000 is a high-end, laser based confocal imaging platform for the most demanding high-content assays and screens. Featuring a novel and proprietary optical system that incorporates an iris-like variable aperture design and next-generation sCMOS technology, IN Cell Analyzer 6000 balances speed and image quality for challenging and variable assays.

For more detailed information visit www.gelifesciences.com/incell

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com

For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com

Media Contacts:
College Hill for GE Healthcare

Tim Watson, Dimithri Wignarajah
T: +44 (0)207 866 7858
E: GE-INCell@collegehill.com