While a microbiologist sits at a colony counter counting the hours before their next break, little do they know that their life as a microbiologist is about to be revolutionized. Nissui Pharmaceuticals (Tokyo) has released a cloud-based colony counter which allows you to upload a photo of your cultured media and have a result instantaneously.

The @BactLab™ application which performs colony counts via the Amazon Web Service (AWS) Cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies was co-developed by Nissui and the Hitachi Corporation.

It was introduced on a trial run last year to an exclusive list of clients and has improved its convenience and features based on user feedback and AI information picked up through user control.

With many colony counters coming on to the market with real-time data information as standard, this low-budget application must be seen as an enticing alternative. According to Nissui, it has a maximum error rate of 8 %, which solely relies on the quality of the image. It is calibrated to work on their own Compact Dry™ plates and it can work on android, PC, and iPhone.

Nissiu: In the future, we are planning on creating a system where it becomes possible for the quality control department (QC/QA division) at a group of companies to monitor the status of every step in the process at each site in real-time, from raw material acceptance, processing, production, manufacturing, and deliveries to quality assurance, thus expediting the business of food hygiene inspections in overseas markets.