Date: Mon Nov 26 2007 - 09:41:00 EST
Our experience is between Ariel's and Alice's. We operate 2 ARIA sorters (one about 4 years old, the other - UV laser equipped - is a year and a half). Besides those we also have 3 LSRIIs of different configurations and age (2, 3 and 4 lasers) all outfitted with HTS samplers. For to me unknown reasons the old LSRII and the old ARIA sorter are the most robust and reliable instruments. We do not have service or quality issues beyond normal wear. The 2005 purchased ARIA Special order (UV laser, LSR-like optical design) had an out of the box bacterial contamination problem that BD could not eliminate and the most aggressive bleaching procedure only offers temporary solution. (We remedied it by running 70% ethanol from the dest. water tank so that the lines are filled with alcohol over night - a suggestion from the Sloan-Kettering lab.) We never experienced any contamination coming from the old Aria sorter. The Aria's fluidic system is the operator's nightmare. It is complicated beyond imagination and prone to harbor bacteria, the solenoid, valves and the maze of lines...and what not, develop problems occasionally. I wish we could have an Aria sorter with the MoFlo-like simple fluidic system. Both sorters needed the replacement circuit boards that drives and controls the droplet charges. They come at $ 6500 each. Guess how much a computer costs when you want to replace the aging HP the instrument came with? The "black box" design turns many advanced users off. I agree that the MoFlo offers a clear layout, open architecture but I consider the Aria more "modular" than the MoFlo. It is not as readily expandable as the MoFlo (adding more lasers is trickier - if possible at all in the lab) but when it comes to servicing the Aria seems to be easier. That is based on what I had seen when engineers worked on the sorters. As to the sheath tank of the LSRII, we bought the 25 liters steel canisters from BD, put them on a bathroom scale (that shows when they need to be refilled) and use them happily for years. The HTS samplers are the best I have seen out there. The Diva? What's wrong with Diva 5? In my opinion the best acquisition application ever. It is (now) stable, robust, intuitive with only a few glitches and minor bugs. We had some fuzzy problems with compensation samples. Our users (who want to learn the LSRII operation) get trained in one hour and rarely need follow-up instructions. That includes the HTS use. Overall, we like the Aria sorters and the LSRII analyzers. We experience more of less the same problems other labs do. Our BD field service in the Boston area is great. That may have something to do with Debbie Ahern-Ridlon working with Novartis after long years at BD. If you don't have service contracts you may experience some reluctance and pressure by the BD tech support but we never had issues with the local service group. If someone is on the market for a new sorter keep an eye on the (somewhat) redesigned MoFlo. It is now digital, much faster than the Aria but still a monster. The Beckman-Coulter acquisition of the cytometry unit from Dako may revitalize those great lines of instruments. Akos __________________________ Akos Szilvasi NIBRI Core Laboratory Services manager USCA, 601-5301 Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. 100 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 02139 USA Phone: +1 617 8717177 Email : akos.szilvasi@novartis.com Alice.L.Givan@Dartmouth.EDU (Alice L. Givan) 11/21/2007 03:49 PM To Cytometry Mailing List <cytometry@flowcyt.cyto.purdue.edu> cc Subject Re: Analyzers Just wanted to counterbalance Uriel's comments on the BD Aria. I trust him and his description of the Aria in his facility. However, we have had an Aria for about four years now and we think it is terrific. It sorts for about 8-10 hours every day. We have had very little trouble with it. We have not had a service contract (since the initial warranty ran out) -- and BD technical support is extremely helpful to us over the phone (with hour-long conversations and complete descriptions of what parts we should order and how to put them in on our own). So, it may be that there are some lemon Arias out there. But we are very happy with our non-lemon. Alice Alice L. Givan Englert Cell Analysis Laboratory of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center Dartmouth Medical School Lebanon, NH 03756 USA tel 603-650-7661 fax 603-650-6130 givan@dartmouth.edu www.dartmouth.edu/~celllab _________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE The information contained in this e-mail message is intended only for the exclusive use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivery of the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail and delete the material from any computer. Thank you.
