BioCision, LLC ThawSTAR Wins Top Honor For Innovation And Design

ThawSTAR Wins Gold From Instrument Business Outlook (IBO) in the Laboratory Equipment Industrial Design Category

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioCision, LLC today announced that they received Instrument Business Outlook’s (IBO) Gold Award for its ThawSTAR™ automated cell thawing system.

“The ThawSTAR system won IBO’s Gold Award in the lab equipment industrial design category because not only does it bring a modern and sleek appearance to lab equipment, but also represents a breakthrough technology”

Candidates are chosen from new products that IBO monitors through trade shows, trade publications, press releases and the Internet. Award winners are selected solely based on their industrial design; criteria include innovation, aesthetics, functionality and utility for products that have begun shipping between August 2014 and July 2015. The winners demonstrate how industrial design can improve a product’s functionality and the end-user’s experience.

According to IBO, the ThawSTAR cell thawing system was chosen for its novel approach to lab equipment design represented in its compact size, touchscreen-free intuitive interface and white finish that communicates simplicity. “The ThawSTAR system won IBO’s Gold Award in the lab equipment industrial design category because not only does it bring a modern and sleek appearance to lab equipment, but also represents a breakthrough technology,” said Brian Schryver, Vice President, Product Development.

The ThawSTAR system automatically thaws frozen 1.8 to 2.0 mL cryogenic vials containing cells or other biospecimens, replacing manual methods such as thawing vials in warm water baths. Measuring only 11.0 x 14.5 cm and weighing 1.2 kg with a power supply, the ThawSTAR system can be readily placed into a laminar flow hood where the rest of the cell handling workflow is performed.

“Our goal with ThawSTAR was to provide a novel product that standardizes an important step in (stem) cell handling in the lab and clinic. The intuitive, user-friendly interface has been extremely well received by our customers and is a testament to the vision of bringing easy-to-operate translational (research to clinic) devices to market,” said Dr. Rolf O. Ehrhardt, BioCision Chief Executive Officer. “When science, engineering and design come together, everyone wins including clinicians, patients, researchers, and laboratory personnel.”

About ThawSTAR

The ThawSTAR automated cell thawing system addresses the “last mile” in the cryopreservation process. Utilizing the patent-pending STAR™ sensing technology, ThawSTAR system tailors the thaw cycle to the specific characteristics of each frozen sample and sets a new standard for how (stem) cells and cell-based therapies are thawed. The ThawSTAR technology integrates multiple detection algorithms to ensure uniform thermal profiles and reproducible recovery of the frozen contents, eliminating the subjectivity found in conventional thaw methods that rely on human interpretation, such as swirling frozen vials in water baths, rolling vials between hands and other manual methods, which carry a high level of risk for temperature variation and sample contamination.

About BioCision

BioCision is a life science research and development company that standardizes processes throughout the healthcare industry. BioCision products enable researchers, clinicians and manufacturers to protect temperature sensitive therapeutics, biological samples, and biomaterials. By addressing temperature standardization, BioCision strives to improve the success of basic research, therapeutic discovery and development and enable effective care delivery.

For more information visit www.biocision.com, or visit the BioCision blog for news and expert insight at blog.biocision.com.