Patient sample classification based upon low angle light scattering
First Claim
1. A method of classifying an agglutination reaction, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a mixture of a blood sample and an agglutination reagent into the confines of a sample container;
moving the mixture within the sample container such that an agglutination reaction occurs and that the agglutinated cells are moved as a flow field into a measurement window of the sample container;
aiming a light source into the sample container and probing the flow field with the light beam; and
detecting the number and size of particles in the light to determine the amount of agglutination of said sample.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for classifying a liquid patient sample includes at least one sample container having a quantity of a sample that is aggressively acted upon so as to create a flow field. A measurement mechanism includes at least one low angle light emitter aligned with a measurement window of the at least one sample container and a detector oppositely disposed relative to the measurement window. Measurement of the scattered light detects particle characteristics of a moving flow field from the sample to determine, for example, the amount of agglutination of the sample so as to perform blood typing or other classifications without spatial separation.
45 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of classifying an agglutination reaction, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a mixture of a blood sample and an agglutination reagent into the confines of a sample container;
moving the mixture within the sample container such that an agglutination reaction occurs and that the agglutinated cells are moved as a flow field into a measurement window of the sample container;
aiming a light source into the sample container and probing the flow field with the light beam; and
detecting the number and size of particles in the light to determine the amount of agglutination of said sample. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of classifying a patient sample, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a patient sample in a sample container;
moving a quantity of sample fluid contained within said sample container so as to create a moving flow field;
aiming a light source into the sample container and probing the flow field with the light beam; and
detecting particle characteristics of said flow field in order to effectively classify said sample. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for classifying a patient sample, said apparatus comprising:
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at least one sample container;
means for moving a quantity of sample fluid contained within said at least one sample container so as to create a moving flow field; and
a measurement mechanism including a light emitter aligned with a measurement window of said at least one sample container and a light detector oppositely disposed relative to said measurement window for detecting scattered light from an emitted light beam, wherein said detector detects particle characteristics of said flow field in order to effectively classify said sample. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification