Training before booking
Grant access per instrument after training, with an optional expiry for recertification. People without access cannot book that instrument. Cores that do not check training can turn the check off.
Flow cytometry cores
Scheduling and billing for flow cytometry cores
Book analyzers and sorters with training checks, take sort requests with their samples, keep daily QC on the calendar, and see every cytometer's status at a glance.
Who it is for
Flow cytometry and cell sorting cores
A flow core runs self-service analyzers and staff-run sorts side by side. ConductCommons keeps both in one place: who may use each instrument, what each session and sort costs, which instruments are up today, and the monthly statement for every lab that used the core.
What you can book
Analyzers, sorters, and the bench around them
Add any instrument your core shares. These are common examples.
Analyzers
Self-run after training, billed for the time used
Spectral analyzers
Longer minimum sessions for unmixing
Cell sorters
Manager approval, or sorts run by staff on request
Biosafety cabinets
Booked with the sorter for BSL-2 work
Cell counters
Open booking for a quick count before the run
Analysis workstations
Booked by the hour for unmixing and gating
How it fits flow work
Self-service analysis and staff-run sorts
Assisted and self-run rates
Give each instrument up to 12 rate options, such as self-run analysis and staff-assisted time, with internal, external, and group rates and an off-peak discount.
Core plan
Sorts by request
Researchers request an assisted sort with the biosafety level, fluorochromes, populations to sort, nozzle, collection format, and a sample list pasted from a spreadsheet. Staff estimate, accept, and release the results.
Core plan
Daily QC on the calendar
Maintenance plans for daily bead QC, weekly fluidics cleaning, and service visits remind managers when each comes due, and each check is recorded when it is done.
Problems and downtime
Anyone who books can report a problem, and managers get an email. A major problem still open after a day is emailed again each morning until it is fixed. Downtime blocks the calendar and tells the people whose bookings it cancels.
Live status board
Every cytometer shown as in use, booked, in training, down, or free, with the next booking. It refreshes every minute, so it can stay open on a screen in the core.
Check-in and actual use
Researchers check in and out at a kiosk. A badge reader or keypad by the instrument can start and stop sessions through the device API, letting in only people allowed on it now.
Statements and finance export
Sessions, sorts, and supplies go on one monthly statement per paying account, locked once final, with a journal export for the finance office.
Core plan
Set up in one step
Choose Flow cytometry when you set up the core: analyzers, a spectral analyzer, a cell sorter, a biosafety cabinet, and a cell counter open with their rules, along with the sorting and panel design services and the QC plans. Change anything later.
Questions
Flow core questions
Can staff run sorts for researchers?
Yes. The sorter can take bookings from trained people and assisted sorts by request. A request records the sort details and samples, staff send an estimate, and the approved amount is billed when the work is done.
How is daily QC tracked?
Each cytometer gets a daily QC plan. Managers are reminded when it comes due, and marking it done records the date, so the instrument shows when it was last checked.
What happens when an instrument breaks?
Whoever finds the problem reports it on the instrument page and the managers get an email. Managers can take the instrument down for a set time, which cancels the bookings in the way after showing who is affected, and tells those people. A major problem still open after a day is raised again each morning.
Can we charge assisted time differently from self-run time?
Yes. Each instrument can carry several rate options, such as assisted and self-run, and each person or project can be in a different price group.
Do we have to check training?
No. Training checks are on by default and can be turned off for the whole core under Rules, for example when every user is supervised.
Other kinds of core: light microscopy, NMR, histology, genomics, core facilities, and behavior cores.
Run your flow core in one place.
Every new workspace includes the Core plan for 30 days. After that, booking stays free; rates, invoices, and service requests need the Core plan.