Patent ID: 7095492

Claim:
A method for measuring the hemoglobin content of individual red cells in a whole blood sample comprising the steps of: (a) diluting a whole blood sample containing red blood cells in a sphering solution, whereby the red blood cells in the sample are rendered substantially spherical in shape, said solution containing an oxygen-containing gas adapted to bind with the hemoglobin molecules within said red cells to form hemoglobin complexes of substantially uniform reflectivity; (b) passing the sphered red cells, one-at-a-time, through an optical interrogation zone; (c) irradiating each red cell as it passes through the optical interrogation zone with a beam of radiation of predetermined wavelength; (d) detecting the level of radiation reflected from each of the irradiated cells within a predetermined angular range; and (e) determining the hemoglobin content of each irradiated cell on the basis of the level of reflected radiation detected.