Patent ID: 11921020
Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF IOWA RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B  C | IPC B  C  G

Claim 17:
18. A method for preparing a fluid preparation comprising circulating tumor cells for a prognostic assay, the method comprising:
obtaining a blood sample from the subject, the blood sample comprising circulating tumor cells and normal cells;
forming a fluid preparation comprising the circulating tumor cells, the normal cells and extracellular calcium,
applying an initial pulse of fluid shear stress to the fluid preparation, wherein the initial pulse of fluid shear stress induces a fluid shear stress resistance in the circulating tumor cells such that the magnitude of shear stress required to kill the viable cancerous cells is greater than the magnitude of shear stress required to kill the viable normal cells;
subsequently applying one or more additional pulses of fluid shear stress to the fluid preparation, said fluid shear stress sufficient to selectively kill the viable normal cells relative to the viable cancerous cells, whereby the ratio of circulating tumor cells to viable normal cells in the preparation is increased; and
subsequently conducting an assay on the preparation, the assay providing a cancer prognosis for the subject based on the viable cancerous cells.