Patent ID: 8153418
Filing Date: 2012-04-10
Classification: C12Q,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for discriminately analyzing a first type of constituents and a second type of constituents contained in a sample, the apparatus comprising a processor of a computer system and a memory with a storage medium that stores programs executable by the processor, wherein the programs are operative to: flow a quantity of the sample through a flow cytometer and detect first and second signals from the flow cytometer which are indicative respectively of first and second optical characteristics of the constituents; scale the detected first and second signals onto a two-dimensional scale, wherein the first and second optical characteristics are scalable respectively along two axes of the two-dimensional scale; read from the memory a first two-dimensional threshold defined to delineate, on the two-dimensional scale, a first region within which both the first and second types of constituents are empirically determined likely to exhibit their first and second optical characteristics; apply the first two-dimensional threshold to the first and second signals scaled onto the two-dimensional scale to derive a first count indicative of a number of the first and second types of constituents countable within the first region on the two-dimensional scale; flow another quantity of the sample through the flow cytometer, which is treated with a chemical that can cause different degrees of change to at least one of the first and second optical characteristics between the first and second types of constituents, and detect third and fourth signals from the flow cytometer which are indicative respectively of the first and second optical characteristics of the chemically treated constituents; scale the detected third and fourth signals onto the two-dimensional scale; read from the memory a second two-dimensional threshold defined to delineate, on the two-dimensional scale, a second region inside which the chemically treated first type of constituents are empirically determined likely to exhibit their first and second optical characteristics and outside which the chemically treated second type of constituents are empirically determined likely to exhibit their first and second optical characteristics; apply the second two-dimensional threshold to the third and fourth signals scaled onto the two-dimensional scale to derive a second count indicative of a number of the chemically treated first type of constituents countable within the second region on the two-dimensional scale; and calculate a ratio of the second count to the first count to present a criterion for determining whether the sample contains the first type of constituents or the second type of constituents.