System for flexibly sorting particles
First Claim
1. A system for sorting particles comprising:
- a measurement unit which measures selected parameters of moving particles and generates a respective trigger signal in response to the passage of selected particles by a selected point and respective detector signals pertaining to selected parameters of the particles;
an overlap detection circuit responsive to successive trigger signals to generate respective overlap signals in response to time separation of trigger signals by less than selected intervals; and
a sorter responsive to the trigger, detector and overlap signals to generate respective sorting signals for sorting the particles at a selected yield/purity ratio which includes intermediate values between maximum yield and maximum purity.
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Abstract
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for flexibly controlling sorting decisions for a flow cytometer or similar instrument at a purity vs. yield ratio of sorted particles, particularly at high event rates. The system monitors distances between sequential objects to determine if they are in close enough proximity to be within a single resolution unit of the sorting device. The "friend" or "foe" status of neighboring events is considered by this system in dealing with detected "coincident" events. The system operates on information of the desirability to sort the object, i.e. droplet, based upon the properties of the individual object. A storage and retrieval method is provided for making the information available at the time a sort operation based on a sorting logic condition is performed. Accordingly, an easily reconfigurable mode of operation control is provided to allow customized sorting strategies, based on the needs of individual applications or experiments. This system may be included as an integral part of a flow cytometer/cell sorter or similar instrument and may also be provided as an outboard module to such systems.
109 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A system for sorting particles comprising:
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a measurement unit which measures selected parameters of moving particles and generates a respective trigger signal in response to the passage of selected particles by a selected point and respective detector signals pertaining to selected parameters of the particles; an overlap detection circuit responsive to successive trigger signals to generate respective overlap signals in response to time separation of trigger signals by less than selected intervals; and a sorter responsive to the trigger, detector and overlap signals to generate respective sorting signals for sorting the particles at a selected yield/purity ratio which includes intermediate values between maximum yield and maximum purity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for sorting particles comprising:
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a source of detection signals for respective particles generated in response to the respective particle passing a selected point; measurement means for measuring selected parameters of the respective particles to generate respective individual sort decisions and for generating a respective trigger signal in response to said detection signals; overlap detecting means responsive to successive trigger signals for generating a respective overlap signal in response to time separation between the successive trigger signals of less than selected intervals; event timing means responsive to the trigger signal to measure a predetermined delay in time pertaining to the passage of the respective particles from the selected point to a selected sorting point and to generate an event timing signal after the determined delay in time; and sort means for sorting the respective particles responsive to the respective individual sort decisions, respective overlap signals and event timing signal to apply a sort pulse to the respective particle whenever a selected combination of individual sorting decisions and overlap signal occurs during said predetermined delay in time. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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Specification