Cytoscreen cell scanner by Imanco, circa 1970

The Cytoscreen cell scanner was one of the image analysers available in the 1970s for determining numbers of cells or detecting rare cells in a sample. This may be useful for research purposes but also for diagnosing illness. Made by Imanco Ltd, the cell scanner was donated to the Science Museum’s collections by the Department of Cytology at Charing Cross Hospital – cytology is the study of the structure and function of cells in the body. It is shown here with a Quantimet B image analyser (9999-8038/1).