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:
Oct. 12, 2004
Filed:
Jul. 30, 2001
Mark Seaver, Burtonsville, MD (US);
James C. Crookston, McLean, VA (US);
Stephen J. Wagner, Columbia, MD (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A method for determining the presence of bacteria in a platelet or red blood cell sample is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: lysing a substantial portion of the platelets or red blood cells; staining the bacteria using a membrane permeable nucleic acid stain; filtering the sample using a membrane filter with a suitable pore size so that a material containing the stained bacteria is retained on the membrane filter; and analyzing the material retained on the membrane filter using epifluorescence microscopy and/or digital image acquisition and analysis to determine the presence of bacteria in the sample. The method allows the detection of bacterial contamination in platelets or red blood cells at clinically significant levels in a relatively short period of time.