Showroom for free
The latest equipment with trained staff. Sci Life Lab in Stockholm want to offer top conditions at the new imaging laboratory. But some vendors are skeptical to the idea of supplying test equipment for free.
–It is of great value for researchers to test new equipment. And we hope this entails a good marketing value to the vendors, says Hjalmar Brismar, professor of Biological Physics and Director Bioimaging platform SciLifeLab.
But all vendors are not happy. One vendor claims it hard to see the marketing value of the showroom when it comes to bigger and more expensive imaging systems. There are simply not enough potential customers for imaging systems of this size. Not enough potential buyers will attend the showroom making participation in the showroom an uncertain investment. The same vendor also fears that the laboratory staff at Sci Life Lab may have different knowledge of the competing imaging systems in the showroom.
This can have a crucial influence on which imaging system will be demonstrated in the best way.
Hjalmar Brisman claims this will not be the case saying that the staff is competent enough to run any imaging system. He is also convinced the vendors will be able to demonstrate their equipment for scientists with major research budgets.
– Things are going very well. Leica will demonstrate an imaging system next week, says Hjalmar Brismar.
He makes a point that the ongoing research at Sci Life Lab will be done with paid equipment. The imaging laboratory is a merger of four imaging laboratories from The Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet.
– I am convinced that both researchers and vendors will like our setup. We will have a very attractive environment where scientists will be able to try new equipment for a very long time, says Halmar Brismar.
The imaging center will be a center for competence offering courses and training.
– I think there is a great need for researchers to come and try new equipment or learn how to use their imaging equipment at home in a better way, says Halmar Brismar.