Patent ID: 6221671
Filing Date: 2001-04-24
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
An apparatus for detecting and counting fluorescent particles, comprising:an illuminating source providing a fluorescence stimulating beam;means for supplying a suspension containing fluorescently labeled particles to pass through said beam at a high velocity;means for detecting fluorescence of said particles and converting said fluorescence into electrical signals;means for digitizing said electrical signals wherein said digitizing occurs at a rate sufficient to reproduce an intensity profile of an individual fluorescent particle passing said stimulating beam;means for transferring said digitized signals and means for providing interruptions of said transferred digitized signals and outputting digitized data to a digital signal processor, wherein a duration of each of said interruptions is a function of the operating speed of said digital signal processor in order to facilitate the transfer of digital information whereby the interruptions cause transfer and processing of data to be matched with the digital sampling rate of the digitizing means;means for analyzing digitized data output from said signal processor whereby particles are distinguished from background noise.