Crystal Diagnostics

What Crystal Diagnostics does

Crystal Diagnostics (dba CDx) is a private US biotechnology company that develops automated pathogen detection platforms for food safety testing. The company's flagship technology uses a liquid crystal (LC) detection method that binds antibodies to pathogen targets on microspheres and detects aggregate-induced distortions in LC alignment via image processing — a fundamentally different approach from PCR that requires no DNA amplification, produces no amplicons (eliminating contamination risk), detects only viable bacteria, and is unaffected by PCR inhibitors. The product portfolio centers on the AccuPath Series of automated liquid handling systems (AccuPath and AccuPath MAX), powered by Hamilton VENUS Software and utilizing Hamilton CO-RE pipetting technology, plus the AutoXpress detection instrument, supported by a full consumables catalog (LC reagents, antibody kits for Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, patented sample slides, pipette tips, media, and maintenance supplies).

The company serves two primary customer segments — commercial food safety testing laboratories and in-house food processing/manufacturing QC labs — through an enterprise field sales motion complemented by event-driven demand generation at industry conferences such as IAFP Annual Meetings and direct engagement via a customer portal. Revenue mechanics combine capital equipment sales (AccuPath/AccuPath MAX/AutoXpress instruments) with a recurring consumables stream tied to the installed base. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Crystal Diagnostics operates from a Boulder, CO corporate headquarters and an Innovation & Manufacturing Center in Kent, OH (housing manufacturing, quality, R&D, and applied research), and traces its origins to a research collaboration between Kent State University's Liquid Crystal Institute and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). The company is led by President & CEO Shaun Hampton and CFO Roxane Amend, with 11–50 employees.

The business model is built around 19 granted patents covering LC detection and automation, AOAC International methodology accreditations, and a core technology partnership with Hamilton Company for liquid handling precision. Funding to date is modest and undisclosed in scale ($1.9M aggregate across 2012 and 2013 per available records), with no identified institutional investor base, indicating the company has reached commercial self-sustenance through its installed base of instruments and recurring consumables rather than ongoing external capital.

Name

Crystal Diagnostics

Legal name

Crystal Diagnostics

Website

https://crystaldiagnostics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crystal Diagnostics (CDx) is a private US biotechnology company that develops automated liquid crystal–based pathogen detection platforms (AccuPath Series, AutoXpress) and proprietary consumables for Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria testing in food safety laboratories and food processing QC operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Safety Pathogen Detection Instrumentation

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAHAAAC

Microbiology & Infectious Disease Diagnostics (Culture/ID/AST)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Medical Devices & Diagnostics/In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) & Laboratory Diagnostics

SECONDARYHLAHAAAN

Laboratory Automation, Sample Prep & Liquid Handling (IVD Lab Diagnostics)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Medical Devices & Diagnostics/In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) & Laboratory Diagnostics

SECONDARYHLAGAIAD

Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Laboratory Equipment, Instruments & Consumables

SECONDARYHLAAALAC

Microbiology & Infectious Disease Diagnostics (culture, rapid antigen, syndromic panels)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Biotechnology & Biologics/Diagnostics (Biotech-related)

Keywords

• Pathogen detection systems
• Food safety testing
• Liquid crystal technology
• Automated liquid handling
• Microbiology consumables

Headquarters

HQ city

Broomfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Detection Systems / Hardware: Sale of AccuPath and AccuPath MAX automated liquid handling pathogen detection systems. These are capital equipment purchases for laboratories requiring high-throughput food safety testing.
2. Consumables and Reagents: Recurring revenue from consumables including: Liquid Crystal (LC) reagents, Antibody Kits/Assays (Salmonella, E. Coli, Listeria), Sample Slides & Trays, Pipette Tips (CO-RE II Tips), Filter Bags, Media, PBS Powder, Microcentrifuge Tubes, Vortex Mixers, and Maintenance Kits. Customers require ongoing consumable supply for system operation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Crystal Diagnostics develops and sells the AccuPath Series of automated liquid handling pathogen detection systems, powered by proprietary liquid crystal (LC) detection technology. The platform detects viable foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria) without DNA amplification or amplicon formation, providing a lower-contamination alternative to PCR. The company also sells the AutoXpress detection machine and a full ecosystem of consumables and reagents, including Liquid Crystal plates, antibody kits, sample slides, CO-RE II pipette tips, media, and PBS powder.

Product overview

Crystal Diagnostics offers a unified product portfolio centered on the AccuPath Series of automated liquid handling pathogen detection systems (AccuPath and AccuPath MAX), complemented by the AutoXpress platform. These core instruments are powered by Hamilton VENUS Software and utilize proprietary liquid crystal detection technology. The product ecosystem includes a comprehensive range of consumables and reagents: Liquid Crystal plates, Antibody Kits/Assays for Salmonella, E. Coli, and Listeria detection, Sample Slides & Trays, CO-RE II Pipette Tips, Filter Bags, Media, PBS Powder, and miscellaneous lab supplies. The platform is designed as an integrated solution for foodborne pathogen testing, combining hardware automation with specialized reagents to deliver rapid, accurate detection as an alternative to traditional PCR testing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AccuPath Series: Flagship testing platforms utilizing liquid crystal technology to detect foodborne pathogens with unparalleled accuracy and speed. Includes AccuPath and AccuPath MAX automated liquid handling systems.
• AutoXpress

Products and services

• AccuPath Series (AccuPath and AccuPath MAX) Automated liquid handling systems for foodborne pathogen detection featuring modular design, Hamilton VENUS Software for workflow design and remote web-browser monitoring, enclosed housing with sensor-controlled door locks, and Hamilton CO-RE (Compressed O-Ring Expansion) pipetting for precision alignment. Designed for food safety testing laboratories and food processing companies performing high-throughput Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria testing.
• AutoXpress Automated pathogen detection machine designed to streamline laboratory workflows for food safety testing, providing a complementary high-throughput platform to the AccuPath series.
• Liquid Crystal (LC) Reagents Liquid crystal reagent consumables designed for seamless integration with AccuPath systems, optimizing the detection phase by enabling precise alignment disruption analysis of pathogen-bound aggregates. Sold as recurring consumables for AccuPath users.
• Antibody Kits / Assays (Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria) Rapid detection kits and assays for critical foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, tailored to various testing volumes for food safety laboratories and processors.
• Sample Slides & Trays AccuPath patented sample slides and trays available in flexible quantities, designed specifically for AccuPath systems to deliver precision and efficiency in sample analysis.
• Media (Microbiological Media) Specialized microbiological media products formulated for broad-spectrum accuracy in pathogen detection processes, sold as part of the AccuPath consumables ecosystem.
• Filter Bags, PBS Powder, Microcentrifuge Tubes, Vortex Mixers, and Maintenance Kits
• CO-RE II Pipette Tips Precision automated pipette tips featuring Hamilton's lock-and-key CO-RE (Compressed O-Ring Expansion) design, providing exceptional tip alignment and accuracy during AccuPath liquid handling workflows, with anti-droplet control and liquid level detection.

Quantifiable outcome

• Detection of viable bacteria only—prevents false positives caused by dead bacteria

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kent State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding research partner. Crystal Diagnostics emerged from a pioneering research collaboration between Kent State University Liquid Crystal Institute and NEOMED over ten years ago. The Liquid Crystal Institute provided the foundational technology and expertise that enabled the company's core detection platform.
• Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding research partner alongside Kent State University. The collaboration between Kent State and NEOMED was instrumental in developing the liquid crystal pathogen detection technology that forms the basis of Crystal Diagnostics' products.
• School of Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT), Kent State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to create immersive 3D digital models of the AccuPath system for remote demonstrations, education, and training. Addresses the challenge of delivering meaningful product demonstrations without logistical constraints of equipment shipment and travel.
• Kent State Design Innovation (DI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with EMAT team to develop 3D digital models of the AccuPath system. These interactive models enable food safety professionals, researchers, and partners to visualize and engage with the platform in a virtual environment.
• Hamilton CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology provider for AccuPath liquid handling systems. The AccuPath & AccuPath MAX are powered by Hamilton's VENUS Software and utilize Hamilton's CO-RE (Compressed O-Ring Expansion) pipetting technology with lock-and-key tip design for superior accuracy. CO-RE II Tips are sourced from Hamilton.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• QIAGEN: QIAGEN is a leading molecular diagnostics and sample technologies provider whose PCR-based workflows are widely used in pathogen detection. CDx's no-amplification liquid crystal chemistry is positioned against QIAGEN's established molecular testing footprint in food and clinical diagnostics.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad's Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics segments include iQ-Check PCR pathogen detection kits for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli used widely in food safety labs. CDx positions its liquid crystal chemistry as a differentiated alternative to Bio-Rad's PCR workflow.
• bioMérieux: bioMérieux is a global IVD leader with a substantial Industrial Microbiology / food safety franchise (BioBall, GENE-UP PCR assays, TEMPO). It competes with CDx in microbiology pathogen detection and represents the scale incumbent CDx must displace in large food processor accounts.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher's Analytical Instruments and Specialty Diagnostics segments encompass microbiology workflow tools, instrumentation, and reagents used in food safety labs. While broader than CDx, it represents the kind of large incumbent whose installed platforms and service networks CDx must compete against.

Direct peers

• R-Biopharm: R-Biopharm is a mid-sized German food diagnostics company offering PCR, immunoassay, and lateral flow pathogen test kits (Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli) for food and feed testing labs. It is a comparable peer in scale, geography, and product breadth to CDx.
• Romer Labs: Romer Labs (part of ADM) specializes in food safety diagnostics including pathogen detection kits, mycotoxin testing, and analytical services for food and feed industries. It is a focused mid-market peer competing for the same food safety QA budget.
• Neogen Corporation: Neogen is a leading food safety and animal safety diagnostics company offering pathogen detection kits, instruments, and consumables to the same food processing and testing laboratory customers CDx targets. Following its 2022 acquisition of 3M's Food Safety business, Neogen is one of the most direct large-scale comparables for CDx's AccuPath + consumables model.
• Hygiena: Hygiena specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, including ATP hygiene monitoring and PCR-based pathogen detection (e.g., BAX System for Salmonella/Listeria). It competes head-to-head with CDx for food processor QA budgets and shares the recurring consumables revenue model.
• Eurofins Technologies: Eurofins Technologies supplies molecular and immunoassay pathogen detection kits to the food, feed, and environmental testing markets, leveraging its parent Eurofins Scientific's testing lab footprint. It competes with CDx for food testing lab customers across Europe and globally.

Others

• Hamilton Company: Hamilton is CDx's core technology partner (CO-RE pipetting, VENUS software, CO-RE II tips) for the AccuPath platform. While not a direct competitor, Hamilton is the most strategically relevant adjacent company — a supply relationship disruption or a competitive Hamilton-branded pathogen detection product would materially affect CDx.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CrystalDx
• Facebookfacebook.com/CrystalDiagnostics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crystaldiagnostics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crystal Diagnostics