In the fall of 2009, CSI - Las Vegas aired an episode called "Death and the Maiden," in which Akron-based NicheVision's SpermFinder had a role. Vic Meles, one of the company's owners, says the filming took more than 4 hours, but the microscope, which is the most important component, appeared in only a few scenes.
"We found out during taping that many of the props on the show are hollow shells, but we can certify this part was the absolute real deal," says Meles.
Meles' company develops software and integrated solutions that automate tedious, time-consuming laboratory tasks so they can be accomplished faster, with less stress and greater accuracy.
Company founder Luigi Armogida, a former microscope salesman with a background in microbiology, started the business in 2006. While working on a project at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations Armogida saw people hunched over microscopes, spending hours looking at slides for rape kits. Workers would spend hours looking for as few as one or two cells. Armogida thought: Why not computerize the task? His employer at the time was not interested in developing his idea so he started his own company.
SpermFinder comprises a microscope, computer and software that identifies the cells. Another product, "Armed Expert," which creates a profile of the person whose cells have been identified, was developed by the U.S. Army and commercialized by NicheVision. A third product, currently in development, called "DNA Express" will remove the sought-after cell from the slide.
"Our customers are crime labs anywhere in the world," says Meles. Surprisingly, the company has only four employees.
Source: Vic Meles, NicheVision, Inc.
Writer: Patrick G. Mahoney