Mount Sinai Pathology Lab · Health Sciences
An assembly of electronic units including a computer terminal, two floppy drives for 8″ disks, and two rectangular units with consoles on the front surface. These elements are as follows:
2023.MTS.9.1: A rectangular unit with a square recess on its lower front face. This void has a black element with a central opening, which is connected to the rest of the unit by a white cable. An optical element is mounted to the ceiling of the recess. A panel above this recess can be opened using a rotating knob revealing a complex optical mechanism within. A hinged microscope is mounted in front of a window in this panel such that it allows the user to view the optical element within. A series of buttons and dials are arranged around the remainder of the front panel. There is a green CRT display at the top-left of the console. There are two counter displays below it. These are labelled “SORTED RIGHT” and “SORTED LEFT” respectively.
There are two handles on the top of the unit. A panel on the upper left corner of the right side can be slid out revealing a cylindrical element connected to the unit with two tubes.
A cooling fan and a series of electrical and data connections are located at the back of the instrument.
Slotted captive fasteners at the top of the case can be loosened in order to remove the lid of the case. This reveals the case interior including the laser and electronics.
2023.MTS.9.2: A rectangular unit of similar size to 2023.MTS.9.1. A blue-tinted CRT screened labelled “OUTPUT” is located in the left front panel. Various buttons, dials, and counters cover the remainder of the front console.
There is a handle at the top of the unit. Slotted captive fasteners at the top of the case can be loosened in order to remove the lid of the case. This reveals the case interior including various electronic components, notably including several removable cards.
The rear of the unit features a series of data plugs.
2023.MTS.9.3: A beige and grey, rectangular floppy drive for 8″ floppy disks. The unit has four feet and several ports and cables on the bottom surface. A grey 9-pin data cable is attached to the base.
2023.MTS.9.4: A beige and grey, rectangular floppy drive for 8″ floppy disks. The unit has four feet and several ports and cables on the bottom surface. A power cable is attached to the base.
An assembly of large electronic elements including a computer terminal, two floppy drives for 8″ disks, and two rectangular units with consoles on the front surface. These elements are as follows:
2023.MTS.9.5: A CRT monitor coloured beige and grey. A power cord is attached to a port on the back.
2023.MTS.9.6: A beige and grey keyboard with an attached cable.
Note: The complete system includes a large, heavy module that houses the power supplies for the various units, a previous for the sheath flow liquid, and a waste bottle. This was not acquired due to the challenge of moving and storing the item.
Accession Number: 2023.MTS.9.1-6
Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorter; Flow Microfluorometer; Fluorescence-based Flow Cytometer.
Primary Materials: Iron Alloy, Plastic, Glass.
2023.MTS.9.1: A blue and white sticker on the left side of the unit reads: “MOUNT SINAI ASSET NO. 07907”
– A white maker’s label at the rear of the unit includes the following information: “Manufactured: DATE: May 5, 1977 by:// COULTER ELECTRONICS, INC.”
– A black and white label below the maker’s label includes the following information: “MOD. NO. TPS/F”, “ASSY No. 6701288”, “SER. NO. 0015”.
2023.MTS.9.2: A label on the CRT assembly includes to following Chasis Number: “5VP115Q00”
2023.MTS.9.3: A label on the front reads “terak 8510// Dual Density Unit 0″. A maker’s lable on the back surface of the instrument includes the following information: ” Model 8510// Serial No. U100893// terak Corporation// Scotsdale, Arizona, USA”
2023.MTS.9.4: A label on the front reads “terak 8510// Dual Density Unit 0″. A maker’s lable on the back surface of the instrument includes the following information: ” Model 8515// Serial No. 0100128// terak Corporation// Scotsdale, Arizona, USA”
2023.MTS.9.5: A maker’s lable on the back surface of the instrument includes the following information: ” Model 8532-1// Serial No. U100906// terak Corporation// Scotsdale, Arizona, USA”
2023.MTS.9.6: A maker’s lable on the back surface of the instrument includes the following information: ” Model 8532-1// Serial No. U100906// terak Corporation// Scotsdale, Arizona, USA”
2023.MTS.9.1: Height = 45.5, Width = 31.5, Length = 74.
2023.MTS.9.2: Height = 45.5, Width = 31.5, Length = 58.
2023.MTS.9.3: Height = 19, Width – 31, Length = 51.
2023.MTS.9.4: Height = 19, Width – 31, Length = 51.
2023.MTS.9.5: Height = 40, Width – 32, Length = 39.
The TPS-1 is a fluorescence-based flow cytometer adapted to sort cells into pure populations. TPS stands for “Two Parameter Sorter’’.
A flow cytometer is a high-speed instrument that analyses the individual cells in a population, gathering the data for further analysis. Fluorescence-based cytometer uses laser light to excite fluorescent dye applied to sample cells. The light emitted during the excitation process is captured by an optical system and characterized.
A flow cytometer must create a constant flow of individual cells to be analyzed as they pass a laser interrogation point. This involves a process known as hydrodynamic focusing that uses a sheath fluid of saline liquid to surround and direct the sample flow.
A cell sorter adds a further mechanism that uses acoustic vibrations to separate cells into individual droplets. Based on data gathered from the flow cytometer, these droplets are assigned a charge based on predefined characteristics. The falling droplets are then directed in separate receptacles using a magnetic field. This early instrument divides cells into two sorted populations (“sorted left”, “sorted right”) as well as a central unsorted population.
2023.MTS.9.1: This item is in good cosmetic condition. There are patches of dried adhesive on the front face. A know for the shutter mechanism is missing from the panel above recess in the console. A screw attachment is missing from the left side of the case. The case is consequently loose in that area. An alligator clip within the optical chamber is very rusty. A slot-head screw is missing from the top of the unit.
2023.MTS.9.2: Is in good cosmetic conditions with minor scratches and abrasions across its surface.
2023.MTS.9.3: The top surface of the unit is scratched and marked. The foam dust covering on the fan at the rear of the unit is disintegrating.
2023.MTS.9.4: The top surface of the unit is marked with a patch of dried adhesive. The foam dust covering on the fan at the rear of the unit is disintegrating.
2023.MTS.9.5 and 6: Are both in very good cosmetic condition.
Note that the large power supply unit was not acquired along with the instrument.
Associated Instruments:
Coulter Electronics, Inc. Hialeah, Florida, USA.
Date of Manufacture: 1977
This instrument was acquired circa 1977 by Mount Sinai Hospital . It was was used by hematopathologist Dr. Elizabeth Musclow to characterize lymphocyte populations. Mount Sinai had a large population of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and this device was used to help ascertain the status of this disease.
The Mount Sinai Pathology Lab collection was transferred from a display case on the 6th floor of Mount Sinai Hospital (600 University Ave. Toronto, On) over several days in mid-December 2020.
J. Paul Robinson (2013). “Wallace H. Coulter: Decades of Invention and Discovery.” Cytometry. Part A 83A, 5: 424–38.
Leonard A Herzenberg, David Parks, Bita Sahaf, Omar Perez, Mario Roederer, Leonore A Herzenberg (2002), The History and Future of the Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter and Flow Cytometry: A View from Stanford, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 48, Issue 10,: Pages 1819–1827,
S. Mitra-Kaushik, Mehta-Damani A, Stewart JJ, Green C, Litwin V, Gonneau C. (2021) The Evolution of Single-Cell Analysis and Utility in Drug Development. AAPS J. 2021 Aug 13;23(5):98
The fluorescence-based flow cytometer, the ICP 11, was developed in 1968 by Wolfgang Göhde and commercialized by Partec over the following year. [Mitra-Kaushik et al. 2021]
The first cell sorter mechanism was built in 1965 by Mack Fulwyler, a researcher at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). Fulwyler, along with several colleagues, was developing techniques for characterizing cells using the Coulter volume method based on electrical resistance. Coulter electronics had developed a collaboration with LASL beginning in 1950s. –
Fulwyler adopted a technology developed by American engineer Richard Sweet, who had created the first inkjet printer while working on a chart recorder mechanism that could operate at frequencies much higher than conventional pen-based systems. Sweet’s system used the relative charge of individual ink particles passing through an electrical field to mark data on paper. Fulwyler adopted the system to separate cells into distinct populations. [Robinson 2013, 428-429]
In 1971, Mack Fulwyler departed LASL to found Particle Technologies, Inc. (PTI), a subsidiary of Counter Electronics. Fulwyler had been working on characterizing cells based on fluorescence since the 1960s. Efforts at PTI worked focused on developing a fluorescence-based cell sorter.
Leonard Herzenberg at Stanford was working on a similar machine. Herzenberg’s research led to the Becton-Dickinson FACS (Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorter), first introduced in 1974. [Herzenberg et al 2002]
An important aspect of this technology was the development of the fluorescent pigment proteins used in cellular research. [Herzenberg et al 2002, 1821-1824].
The first Coulter TPS-1 machines became commercially available around the mid-1970s.
- Donated to UTSIC