Tabletop FT-ICR
BSI's FT-ICR is not a handheld instrument. It is a compact, transportable, tabletop mass spectrometer built for users who need isotope-resolving performance outside a traditional room-sized FT-ICR lab.
Portable means transportable, not pocket-sized. Handheld mass spectrometers are useful for screening, but they do not resolve the light isotope interferences that matter for helium exploration, fusion diagnostics, or hydrogen isotope analysis. BSI is targeting the gap between handheld screening tools and conventional FT-ICR systems that require dedicated laboratory infrastructure.
The system is designed around a compact FT-ICR architecture rather than a full room-scale magnet system. That allows a tabletop form factor suited to mobile labs, site-adjacent analysis, and facilities that cannot house a conventional FT-ICR installation.
The reason to choose this system is not generic portability. It is transportable isotope resolution. BSI's FT-ICR is built to deliver resolving power greater than 10,000 at m/z 3-4, where He-3, HD, D2, HT, DT, and He-4 create hard separation problems for conventional quadrupole instruments.
A realistic field deployment still needs sample handling, gas plumbing, calibration workflow, power planning, and a stable operating environment. BSI's value is that the high-resolution analyzer can be configured around the field program instead of forcing every sample back through a distant central lab.
Small quadrupoles and portable gas analyzers can be useful when the question is simply whether a gas is present. They are a poor fit when the decision depends on separating nearly overlapping isotope peaks. That is the reason BSI emphasizes FT-ICR resolution, not just instrument size.
Data For Decisions
| Instrument class | Size | Resolution at m/z 3-4 | Best fit | Cost class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handheld mass spec | Handheld or backpack | Low to moderate | Screening and survey work | Lower |
| BSI tabletop FT-ICR | Transportable tabletop system | R > 10,000 | Field isotope analysis | $180k+ |
| Conventional lab FT-ICR | Dedicated lab or room | High | Central lab research | Often $1M+ |
Direct Answers
Field researchers, mobile laboratories, fusion facilities, helium operators, and labs that need isotope resolution without building a full FT-ICR room.
Low-mass isotope and light gas problems where resolving power matters more than broad chemical screening.
That is the target use case: a high-resolution instrument that can be planned into a mobile or site-adjacent workflow instead of requiring a full conventional FT-ICR lab.
Next Step
Talk with BSI about whether a tabletop FT-ICR fits your field, mobile lab, or facility-constrained isotope analysis workflow.