Patent ID: 8871508

Claim:
A method for measuring a cell-mediated immune (CMI) response in a sample of whole blood collected from a subject to determine a capacity of the subject to mount a CMI response, comprising: a) incubating an antigen in an incubation container with an undiluted whole blood sample from a peripheral capillary of the subject or from an artery or vein of the subject, wherein the whole blood sample comprises immune system cells which are capable of producing immune effector molecules following stimulation by the antigen, wherein in the incubation container the whole blood sample has a shape that has (i) a maximum circular diameter of less than 6 mm and (ii) a height of from at least 4 mm to 6 mm to a maximum height of 12 mm to 20 mm, and wherein the whole blood sample that is incubated has a total volume that is less than 500 μl; and b) subsequent to step (a) detecting, in the whole blood sample that has been incubated, a level of at least one immune effector molecule, or of a nucleic acid molecule capable of producing said at least one immune effector molecule, wherein the level of the at least one immune effector molecule, or of the nucleic acid molecule capable of producing said at least one immune effector molecule, is indicative of the capacity of the subject to mount a cell-mediated response.