Patent ID: 9310328
Filing Date: 2016-04-12
CPC Classification: G01N

Claim Text:
1. A method of detecting leukemia, comprising the steps of: placing a suspension of red blood cells in a reservoir having a capillary tube partially immersed in the suspension; placing a first electrode in the reservoir outside the capillary tube; placing a second electrode into the capillary tube, and bringing the second electrode into contact with the surface of the suspension; applying an a.c. field to the electrodes; sweeping the frequency of the a.c. field between 0 Hz and 1×10 measuring the electrical resistance as a function of frequency between the second electrode and the surface of the suspension; and taking top view images of the suspension at the interface between the second electrode and the surface of the suspension with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera during said sweeping step; analyzing the images to determine a resonant frequency at which the red blood cells are repelled from the electrode and exhibit a most-ordered pattern of chains of red blood cells; and comparing the resonant frequency with a frequency that is unique to red blood cells obtained from patients with leukemia, leukemia being detected when the frequencies are substantially identical.