Detector Technologies in Flow Cytometry

THE SPEAKER

Keegan Owsley -  Associate Principal Engineer, Waters Biosciences 

Keegan Owsley is an Associate Principal Engineer in the Advanced Technology Group at Waters Biosciences (formerly BD Biosciences), where he focuses on next‑generation technologies for flow cytometry, imaging flow, and cell sorting. He brings over twelve years of experience designing and engineering flow cytometry systems, with hands‑on work spanning fluidics, electronics, firmware, and software. In his current role, he has contributed to the development of the FACSDiscover platform, and continues to work on technologies powering the next generation of flow sorters.

Prior to joining BD, Keegan worked at a flow imaging startup developing novel imaging‑based cytometry technology that later became the CellView platform following its acquisition. Earlier in his career, he pursued research in inertial microfluidics, building microscale systems for particle and cell manipulation, and before that conducted undergraduate research in synthetic biology. Outside of work, he is the proud father of two young daughters, ages six and three.

WEBINAR SUMMARY

Modern flow cytometry relies on a diverse set of optical detectors, each with distinct physical operating principles, gain mechanisms, and noise characteristics that directly impact system performance. Selecting and optimizing a detector is therefore not a one‑size‑fits‑all decision, but a trade‑space shaped by sensitivity requirements, dynamic range, speed, stability, and application context.

This talk presents a practical, physics‑grounded overview of the major detector technologies used in flow cytometry, including photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, photomultiplier tubes, silicon photomultipliers, and camera‑based sensors. For each class of detector, we will examine how signal is generated and amplified, how gain is implemented and controlled, and the dominant noise sources that limit performance. We will then put this knowledge into practical context for an advanced flow user trying to optimize their system for a particular application.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will receive an overview of different detector technologies, learn how they function, why they are used in different circumstances, and how they can be optimized for use in flow.

Who Should Attend:
Imaging Cytometrists, Industry Scientists (vendor-agnostic; tool developers; method innovators), Shared Resource Laboratory (SRL) Managers and Staff, Unconventional Cytometrists (plant, water, microbes, etc.)

Keywords: Detectors, technology, noise, gain

CMLE Credit: 1.0