Automated microscopic cell analysis

Abstract

Disclosed in one aspect is a method for performing a complete blood count (CBC) on a sample of whole blood by metering a predetermined amount of the whole blood and mixing it with a predetermined amount of diluent and stain and transferring a portion thereof to an imaging chamber of fixed dimensions and utilizing an automated microscope with digital camera and cell counting and recognition software to count every white blood cell and red blood corpuscle and platelet in the sample diluent/stain mixture to determine the number of red cells, white cells, and platelets per unit volume, and analyzing the white cells with cell recognition software to classify them.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. provisional applications Nos. 62 / 138,359, filed Mar. 25, 2015, 62 / 084,760, filed Nov. 26, 2014, and 62 / 113,360 filed Feb. 6, 2015, which are all herein incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention pertains to analyzers and methods for automatically performing microscopic cell analysis tasks, such as counting blood cells in biological samples.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]There are a variety of methods for enumerating particles, such as cells, in biological samples. The most rudimentary method consists of a hemocytometer and a microscope. A hemocytometer is a precision slide device where biological samples are introduced into a chamber by capillary action or by pipette with ruled square markings, such as 1×1 mm squares, and a known depth. These known dimensions are used to compute a unit volume, typically 0.01 uL, so that the concentration of cells can be accurately determi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]In one embodiment the size of the vessel is of sufficient capacity to provide diluent-stain to dilute several samples with a diluent-stain to sample ratio of 10:1 to about 250:1. The reagent supply module can include a self-priming mechanism for priming the diluent-stain and for eliminating air bubbles. In such an embodiment, the reagent supply module may also include a vacuum chamber and vacuum port which interfaces with, and is connected to, the vacuum ports of the test cartridge when the cartridge is in the cradle to provide a vacuum to the vacuum channel or imaging chamber. The reagent supply module may further include a chamber for collecting waste diluent-stain from the priming process as explained below.

[0013]Systems according to the invention can exhibit better quantitative accuracy than manual microscope analyses, which tend to be limited by variability in sample preparation and limited counting statistics. In the present invention, sample preparation is improved by removing critical operator fluid handling steps and by automation of all dilution steps. A complete set of system controls can be incorporated to ensure that sample dilutions are accurate and repeatable. This can be particularly important in laboratories where metrology standards are not universally followed and skill level is low. Where every...

Problems solved by technology

The hemocytometer with microscope method can be extremely time-consuming and require skilled technicians.

It can also be operator-dependent, and is susceptibl...

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