System and method for measuring blood platelet function
First Claim
1. An apparatus for assessing the function of platelets in a sample of whole blood, the apparatus comprising:
- means for holding the sample, wherein the sample comprises whole blood;
means for causing flow of the whole blood through a scattering volume;
means for introducing an aggregating agent into the sample of whole blood such that platelet aggregation occurs;
means for illuminating the whole blood within the scattering volume;
means for detecting the light scattered by the whole blood in the scattering volume and generating a scattering signal; and
means for processing the scattering signal and displaying at least one platelet aggregation parameter in a humanly perceptible manner whereby the volume of the means for holding the sample is such that the light scattered is not attenuated below that needed for detection and analysis of platelet aggregation within the sample.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An instrument is described for measuring the platelet aggregation in whole blood in response to standard aggregating agents. The instrument is designed to be used in the clinical laboratory to evaluate the functional status of platelets in blood samples drawn from patients suspected of abnormal platelet function, or in a research laboratory to evaluate the effectiveness of platelet agonists or antiplatelet agents. The measurement is based on the scattering of light in the blood sample and does not require separation of erythrocytes from blood and therefore helps minimize the need for handling of blood by the laboratory personnel. The instrument converts the light-scattering data to provide the number and average size of the aggregates per unit volume at various times during the process of aggregation.
78 Citations
50 Claims
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1. An apparatus for assessing the function of platelets in a sample of whole blood, the apparatus comprising:
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means for holding the sample, wherein the sample comprises whole blood; means for causing flow of the whole blood through a scattering volume; means for introducing an aggregating agent into the sample of whole blood such that platelet aggregation occurs; means for illuminating the whole blood within the scattering volume; means for detecting the light scattered by the whole blood in the scattering volume and generating a scattering signal; and means for processing the scattering signal and displaying at least one platelet aggregation parameter in a humanly perceptible manner whereby the volume of the means for holding the sample is such that the light scattered is not attenuated below that needed for detection and analysis of platelet aggregation within the sample. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for assessing the function of platelets in a sample of whole blood, the method comprising the steps of:
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collecting a sample, wherein the sample comprises whole blood; causing the sample of whole blood to flow through a scattering volume; introducing an aggregating agent into the sample of whole blood such that platelet aggregation occurs; illuminating the sample of whole blood within the scattering volume; detecting the light scattered by the whole blood in the scattering volume and generating a scattering signal; and processing the scattering signal and displaying at least one platelet aggregation parameter in a humanly perceptible manner whereby the volume of the scattering volume is such that the light scattered is not attenuated below that needed for detection and analysis of platelet aggregation within the sample. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A device for collecting and holding a sample of blood so that one or more characteristics of the sample can be assessed by an optical analysis apparatus, the device comprising:
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a reservoir for holding the sample of blood; means for allowing entry of the sample of blood from a device withdrawing blood from the patient and into the reservoir; an inlet on the reservoir; an outlet on the reservoir; a conduit having a first end and a second end, the first end being connected to the inlet and the second end being connected to the outlet such that at least a portion of the sample of blood can flow through the conduit whereby optical analysis of the blood within the conduit can be carried out and the conduit can be operationally placed in and removed from the optical analysis apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification