CYTO Innovation Technology Showcase

IMPORTANT Deadlines:

• Submission Deadline: February 13, 2026
• Semi-Finalist Acceptance Notification: March 9, 2026
• Publicity for Accepted Applicants: March 9 – 22, 2026
• Three Finalist Notified of Acceptance: March 20, 2026
• Publicity for Finalists: March 23 – April 6, 2026

Submit Today

A highlight of the CYTO Innovation session is the Technology Showcase. The Technology Showcase presentations allow scientists, engineers and early-stage companies who seek to commercialize new technologies and services for cell analysis to present their plans to an audience of cytometrists, entrepreneurs, investors, and business development professionals from established corporations. Several presenters from past CYTO Innovation sessions have entered business arrangements with large companies following their presentation.

Among the Topics That Matter Are:

• Your motivation to start the business
• How does your technology differ from available alternatives/ existing solutions?
• The impact your innovation will have on the practice of cytometry
• IP position and freedom to operate
• How you plan to take your idea to market
• Your team
• Anticipated next steps and where you need help

Eligibility Criteria:

• Applicants that were selected as the finalist for any of the last three (3) Technology Showcase events (2023-2025) cannot apply. Exceptions can be made upon fundamental changes to the proposed business idea and innovation.
• The video must not contain any offensive, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate content. Each submission is screened by the CYTO Innovation Committee before the videos are published.
• The annual revenue of your business is below $10M USD.

Judging Criteria:

1. Please provide a short description of your product or service.
2. In addition to addressing the topics above, you will need to answer the following questions:
   • What problems / unmet customer needs / market gaps do you want to address?
   • How is your product different, better than existing alternatives and competitors?
   • What is the identified challenge and business opportunity? What will be the resulting impact on the practice of science and medicine?
   • Has proof of the concept been achieved?
   • Has a commercial prototype been developed?
   • Has a patent been submitted?
   • How do you plan to take your idea to market?
   • Your key team members’ experience and achievements.
   • What are you looking for to help you advance your business?

In addition to answering the questions above, you will need to upload a video not to exceed 5-minutes and 200MB file size discussing your idea. While there are no strict presentation format requirements, you may consider several topics that matter:

• How does your technology differ from available alternatives/existing solutions?
• What impact will your innovation have on the practice of cytometry?
• What is your IP position, and do you have freedom to operate?
• How you plan to take your idea to market?
• Do you have a team capable of bringing your idea to market?
• What are the anticipated next steps and where you need help?
• Videos should not resemble commercial advertisements and the appearance of such may result in disqualification.

Prize:

A winner will be chosen by qualified judges and awarded a non-dilutive $3,000 (USD) cash prize. The other two finalists are awarded $1,000 (USD) cash prizes. All finalists will qualify for in-kind prizes (professional advice from domain experts, promotion within the ISAC community, reserved slot for CYTO poster session, interview slot in CYTO Innovation Webinar Series).

All participating companies will be encouraged to submit a previously unpublished scientific manuscript for peer reviewed publication in Cytometry Part A.

Is your company ready to become the next big name in the cytometry industry? Heighten your skills of influencing others and join us to network through the course of the meeting in a supportive ISAC community.