Beckman Coulter, Inc.

Coulter International Corp.

Santiago Galvez

Yi Li

Nery Ortiz

William Weigong Li

Roberto Del Valle

Carole J Young

Mark A Wells

Craig R Veiner

Jose M Cano

Carlos A Perez

Lidice L Lopez

Eileen Landrum

Marco Zuleta

Michael A Krou

Robert Autrey

Carlos R Gonzalez

William J Casey

Joaquin Ibanez

Pablo Larrea

Rodrigue Ade

Pedro E Leon

Apparatus for aspirating and dispensing liquid samples in an analytical instrument, e.g., a hematology instrument, includes a liquid-sampling valve that, while operating to segment and position for dispensing one or more precise volumes of a liquid sample that has been aspirated into the valve by a pump, simultaneously enables the apparatus to be operated in an aspirate/dispense (suck-and-spit) mode in which a liquid sample can be selectively driven through the valve in opposite directions by a pump, e.g., a syringe pump.

Apparatus for aspirating and dispensing liquids in an automated analyzer

A method for discriminating and quantifying platelets within an analyzed blood sample involves initially diluting the blood sample with a ghosting reagent that causes a change in the index of refraction of the red blood cells. Owing to the change in the index of refraction, light scattered from the ghosted red blood cells will be substantially reduced relative to light scattered from platelets. This results in locations of platelets within a scatterplot of the analyzed blood sample to fall within a region distinguishable from those containing normal red blood cells, fragmented red blood cells, and microcytic red blood cells.

Method for discriminating platelets from red blood cells

Apparatus and method for aspirating liquid from a container, e.g., a test tube or other vessel, includes apparatus for sensing that an aspiration probe tip is contacting the inside bottom wall of the container, whereby a maximum volume of liquid can be aspirated from the container. According to the invention, an encoder is mounted on the driven member of a motor (e.g., on a rotatably-driven drive shaft or a nut of a stepper or D.C. motor, or on a linearly-driven shaft of a linear actuator) used to rectilinearly advance the probe tip into the container. Such encoder produces a series of pulses indicating the speed and/or linear position of the probe tip. A motor controller responds to a predetermined change in pattern of pulses from the encoder indicating that movement of the probe tip has been resisted by the vessel bottom, whereby further movement of the driven member and of the probe connected thereto is arrested, and the probe tip remains in contact with the vessel bottom.

Method and apparatus for maximizing liquid aspiration from small vessels

Reference control compositions and the method of use are disclosed for measurement of nucleated red blood cells, which includes one set of synthetic spherical particles having a mean particle diameter ranging from 6.2 &#x3bc;m to 6.8 &#x3bc;m and a refractive index from 1.58 to 1.62 monodispersed in an aqueous suspension medium. The synthetic spherical particles have optical properties simulating optical properties of nucleated red blood cells as measured by optical measurements. The reference control composition can further include a second set of the synthetic spherical particles having optical properties simulating optical properties of white blood cells. Further disclosed is a reference control system which includes a series of reference control compositions, each having an amount of one type of synthetic spherical particles which have optical properties simulating the optical properties of nucleated red blood cells having a specific cell maturity.

Reference control for optical measurement of nucleated red blood cells of a blood sample

An apparatus for automatically drawing a blood sample from a sealed container having an internal pressure below that of atmospheric pressure comprises an aspirating needle which serves to pierce the sealed container to aspirate liquid from the container, and to vent the interior of the container to the surrounding atmosphere through a suitable vent line connected to the needle. Such apparatus further comprises a vacuum pump connected to the needle through an aspiration line for aspirating blood from the sealed container. To warn the user of the possibility that fluid (e.g. cleansing diluent) in the aspirating needle has been drawn into the sealed container in the event of a vent line failure, apparatus is provided for detecting the pressure in the container immediately after the aspirating needle has pierced the container seal, and for comparing this pressure with a predetermined nominal value (typically, the negative pressure rating of the vacuum pump).

Apparatus and method for monitoring vent line vacuum

Growing community of inventors

Miami, FL, United States of America

Santiago Galvez