That's when father and son got together.

"We thought, rather than have these very complicated computer systems and every lab its own programmer, the way to go would be to develop software useful for multiple labs," Glaser said. "The goal was to design affordable software to allow research in the neuron reconstruction field. They would save a lot of money buying our software."


In time, this led to the development of Neurolucida, MBF Bioscience's inaugural, and still best-selling, piece of software. By helping researchers map out brain cells and measure differences between brain regions, the program has led to some surprising revelations. For instance, researchers can learn what happens in the brains of pregnant women.

"When women become pregnant, they get more of these small neuron protuberances called dendritic spines. They play a large role in how people remember things, forming tiny synapses with other cells," Glaser said.

Now, more than 1,000 labs run MBF Bioscience software, according to the company. And those old DEC behemoths?

"Your cell phone is more powerful than that computer," Glaser said.

Savings and new markets

MBF Bioscience has branches in Europe and Japan, but like other life science and technology companies, it has its eye on China, which Glaser says is ramping up its R&D.

"Our newest office this year is in China," Glaser said. "We're in Hong Kong and Taiwan and Shanghai, and we're hoping to expand more in China as well."

Also, five years ago, it launched a sister company, MBF Labs, to do contract research for pharmaceutical companies and other groups. This is not just another source of revenue, Glaser said. It also helps them refine their products.

"It's also nice to see people in our office using our software - they are doing what our customers are doing, except it generates this really great synergy, where our programmers can sit down with people using the software," Glaser said. "It's like having a customer in your own house."

But the company certainly isn't immune from the shocks of the economy. Glaser estimates that 60 to 70 percent of its U.S. customers depend on grants from the National Institutes of Health, a government body whose funds can dip in lean times.

But Glaser says the company works hard to cut costs and attract customers. It got a name change six years ago, when MicroBrightField was shortened to simply MBF Bioscience. The rationale? Inclusiveness.

"Brightfield is a form of microscopy," Glaser said. "We decided that name was limiting because people thought of us as a great system for brightfield, but what if they had a confocal microscope?"

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