The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 31, 2004
Filed:
Nov. 17, 2000
John W. Roche, Scarborough, ME (US);
W. Peter Hansen, Canaan, NY (US);
Marcus F. Julian, Medford, MA (US);
Harold C. Flynn, Jr., Scarborough, ME (US);
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME (US);
Abstract
The present invention is a flow cytometry-based hematology system useful in the analysis of biological samples, particularly whole blood or blood-derived samples. The system is capable of determining at least a complete blood count (CBC), a five-part white blood cell differential, and a reticulocyte count from a whole blood sample. The system preferably uses a laser diode that emits a thin beam to illuminate cells in a flow cell and a lensless optical detection system to measure one or more of axial light loss, low-angle forward scattered light, high-angle forward scattered light, right angle scattered light, and time-of-flight measurements produced by the cells. The lensless optical detection system contains no optical components, other than photoreactive elements, and does not include any moving parts. Finally, the system uses a unique system of consumable reagent tubes that act as reaction chambers, mixing chambers, and waste chambers for the blood sample analyses. The consumable tubes incorporate reference particles, which act as internal standards to ensure that the dilutions made during processing of the samples have been carried out correctly, and to ensure that the instrument is working properly. The present invention also relates to methods for using the system.