Patent ID: 6426615
Filing Date: 2002-07-30
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
An apparatus for analyzing particles suspended in a fluid having at least one electrical property different from properties of the particles, as the fluid and particles move from a first fluid-containing portion to a second fluid-containing portion, the apparatus comprising:a conduit creating a path permitting fluid communication between the first and second fluid-containing portions, the path having a longitudinal axis and the conduit defining a fluid-constraining path in a direction along the longitudinal axis; a first pair of electrodes, the first pair of electrodes including a first electrode located in the first fluid-containing portion and a second electrode located in the second fluid-containing portion; a first constricted electrical path between the first and second electrodes, the first constricted electrical path extending along the fluid constraining path; and a second pair of electrodes, the second pair of electrodes including a third electrode and a fourth electrode, the third and fourth electrodes being positioned in a non-encircling arrangement relative to the conduit and defining a unique line therebetween extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis.