IncuCyte incubator imaging system facilitates kinetic, non-invasive imaging of cells in culture inside an incubator environment. The eight-inch high unit fits on a single shelf inside most standard user-supplied CO₂ incubators. Imaging is automated and performed around-the-clock, and requires no human intervention. The non-invasive approach allows the capture of valuable kinetic cellular information. The product can be used for cell-based assay optimization and quality control as it generates non-invasive kinetic growth curves (derived from the imagery) which can detect changes in culture caused by substrate variation, media formulation, serum concentration, cell passage etc. The consistent and non-invasive metric of cell culture day to day can be used to optimize conditions for a functional assay. Once optimized, this information can be used to insure that cells for harvest and cells for passage are maintained at optimum growth cycles particular to that assay. Non-invasive, kinetic readout can be provided for live-cell proliferation and/or toxicology assays where typically only invasive, end-point measurements are made. The system is Web-based, allowing users to log into their “virtual incubator” from anywhere in the world and keep electronic records of culture variability over time (images and growth curves) with no additional labor resource. Since the system is network driven, sharing of information becomes very efficient when working with colleagues or collaborators. Multiple users can be logged into IncuCyte and various levels of security for viewing information can be designated.