Patent ID: 9261495
Filing Date: 2016-02-16
CPC Classification: G01N,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method for flagging a blood sample as containing lysis-resistant red blood cells or fragile white blood cells, the method comprising: (i) passing a blood sample through a flow cell of a hematology analyzer to generate a plurality of optical data using a plurality of detectors for detecting a plurality of optical characteristics of the blood sample, wherein the hematology analyzer comprises a light source for directing light to the flow cell; (ii) analyzing the optical data to determine one or more values for the blood sample, wherein the value is selected from the group comprising: a rate of decrease in the total number of cells in the blood sample over a period of time, a rate of decrease in the number of cells in the blood sample classified as lymphocytes over a period of time, a lymphocyte geometric distance, a lymphocyte box count ratio, or a lymphocyte depolarized side scatter (DSS) value; and (iii) calculating the difference between each value and a reference criterion that is based on data obtained from a plurality of reference samples, wherein if the value differs from the reference criterion by a predetermined amount, then the blood sample is flagged as containing lysis-resistant red blood cells or fragile white blood cells.