Patent ID: 7282370

Claim:
A method for tracking and analysis of multiple analytes through a series of processing steps, wherein said analytes are anchored to a plurality of microparticles, the method comprising: providing a population of microparticles, held in a planar array within a flow chamber, of which said plurality of microparticles have said multiple analytes anchored thereto; for each of a series of processing steps: (i) delivering processing reagents having optically detectable labels to the flow chamber, such that said multiple analytes are contacted with the processing reagents, (ii) exposing said plurality of microparticles to radiation, thereby producing optical signals from products of interaction between said optically labeled reagents and said analytes on the microparticles, and (iii) detecting and recording said optical signals from each microparticle of the plurality, to produce a sequence of optical signals for each microparticle of the plurality; tracking the positions of said plurality of microparticles within the array during said processing steps, by collecting images derived from scattered or focused light from said microparticles, thereby determining the approximate center of each microparticle; and correlating said sequences of optical signals with said positions.