Digital sampling apparatus and methods for sorting particles
CAFCFirst Claim
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1. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
- a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path;
b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path;
c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles;
d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B;
e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles;
f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information include a series of waveform pulses, the waveform pulses being indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and
g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information wherein the digital signal processor includes instructions for detecting the waveform pulses corresponding to the digital information, instructions for extracting features in the detected waveform pulses, and instructions for discriminating the detected waveform pulses as a function of their extracted features.
6 Assignments
1 Petition
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for sorting a mixture of stained particles including a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information generated from the particles and providing a sorting signal to a sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information.
91 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information include a series of waveform pulses, the waveform pulses being indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information wherein the digital signal processor includes instructions for detecting the waveform pulses corresponding to the digital information, instructions for extracting features in the detected waveform pulses, and instructions for discriminating the detected waveform pulses as a function of their extracted features. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired articles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information wherein the digital signal processor includes instructions for detecting pulses corresponding to the digital information, instructions for extracting features in the detected pulses, and instructions for defining a decision boundary discriminating between the extracted features representing characteristics A and the extracted features representing characteristic B. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired articles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor includes a data management processor for assembling the digital information into a continuous stream.
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17. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired articles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor includes a pulse detection processor for detecting waveform pulses represented by the digital information, and in that the digital signal processor classifies the digital information as a function of a coefficient of variation of a population of the particles having characteristic A or as a function of a coefficient of variation of a population of the particles having characteristic B.
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18. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B, wherein the analog to digital converter further comprises a continuous sampling rate; g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information; and h. a filter for filtering the analog output at a frequency equal to or less than one half the continuous sampling rate of the analog to digital converter, wherein the analog to digital converter converts the filtered analog output into corresponding digital information, and in that the digital signal processor classifies the digital information as a function of a discrimination boundary.
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19. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B, wherein the analog to digital converter further comprises a continuous sampling rate; g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information; and h. a filter for filtering the analog output at a frequency equal to or less than one half the continuous sampling rate of the converter, and in that the converter converts the filtered analog output into corresponding digital information. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A system, for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B, wherein the analog to digital converter further comprises a continuous sampling rate and wherein the continuous sampling rate is about 105 MHz or higher; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information.
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22. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor includes a feature extraction and discrimination processor for defining a decision boundary discriminating between extracted features representing characteristics A and extracted features representing characteristic B, and in that the feature extraction and discrimination processor extracts features represented by the digital information and classifies the features as a function of the decision boundary.
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23. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor includes a feature extraction and discrimination processor for defining a decision boundary discriminating between extracted features representing characteristics A and extracted features representing characteristic B, and in that the feature extraction and discrimination processor extracts features represented by the digital information and classifies the features as a function of a coefficient of variation of a population of the particles having characteristic A or as a function of a coefficient of variation of a population of the particles having characteristic B.
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24. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor classifies the digital information as a function of reducing a coefficient of variation of a population of the particles having characteristic A to be substantially equal to or less than a preset amount or as a function of minimizing a coefficient of variation of a population of the particles having characteristic B to be substantially equal to or less than a preset amount. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor classifies the digital information such that a population of the particles having characteristic A and a population of the particles having characteristic B correspond to a computer model of three populations including a first model population of particles having characteristic A, a second model population of particles having characteristic B and a third model population of unaligned particles, said model estimating population statistics for each of the first, second and third model populations. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A system, for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor determines background characteristics of the time-varying analog output from the digital information;
detects waveform pulses represented by the digital information as a function of the determined background characteristics; and
provides a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the detected waveform pulses. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor generates initial discrimination parameters from the digital information, discriminates the digital information as a function of the initial discrimination parameters, and provides a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the discriminated digital information. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital processor employs a detection threshold for defining waveform pulses corresponding to the digital information, and wherein said detection threshold is a function of a background mean estimate and a standard deviation of the digital information computed within a moving window of samples ending with the current sample.
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33. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information; and h. a digital control which employs a statistical anomaly detection analysis, wherein digital information statistically anomalous from background characteristics of the digital information is considered part of a digital pulse.
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34. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B, and wherein the electromagnetic radiation source further comprises a pulsed illumination device which is synchronized with the analog to digital converter sampling for synchronous sampling for illuminating the particles to produce corresponding waveform pulses; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information.
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35. A system for sorting a mixture of stained particles, including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the system comprising:
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a. a fluid delivery system for delivering a fluid containing the stained particles in a flow path; b. an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting fluorescence emissions from the stained particles having characteristic A and the stained particles having characteristic B in the flow path; c. a photodetector for detecting the fluorescence emissions from the stained particles; d. a processor in communication with the photodetector for classifying the stained particles according to their fluorescence emissions as either particles having characteristic A or particles having characteristic B; e. a sorting system for sorting the stained particles according to the classification to provide at least one population containing desired particles; f. an analog to digital converter for sampling a time-varying analog output from the photodetector and providing an output including digital information corresponding to the time-varying analog output wherein the time-varying analog output and the corresponding digital information are indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; and g. a digital signal processor for analyzing and classifying the digital information and providing a sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information, wherein the digital signal processor extracts features from waveform pulses corresponding to the digital information and provides the sorting signal to the sorting system as a function of the extracted features, and wherein the extracted features include an approximation of a derivative of the pulse or slope of the pulse at a point of the pulse relative to an average peak height of the pulse. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method for sorting a mixture of stained particles including stained particles having a characteristic A and stained particles having a characteristic B, the method including the steps of:
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a. forming a stream containing stained particles; b. generating an analog output with a photodetector detecting stained particles in the stream; c. sampling the analog output from the photodetector with an analog to digital converter and generating corresponding digital information wherein the analog output is indicative of characteristic A or characteristic B; d. analyzing and classifying the digital information, wherein the step of analyzing and classifying further comprises detecting waveform pulses represented by the digital information, extracting features of the waveform pulses from the digital information, and discriminating the detected waveform pulses as a function of their extracted features; e. sorting the stained particles as a function of the analyzed and classified digital information; and f. collecting the sorted particles to provide a population containing stained particles having a characteristic A and/or a population containing stained particles having a characteristic B. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification