Patent ID: 8243272

Claim:
A system for monitoring levels of particles in liquid, the system comprising: an optical axis; a target zone, the optical axis intersecting the target zone; at least one light source configured to generate a light beam and direct the light beam through the target zone; an optic lens system configured to collect light scattered by a particle associated with the particles in the liquid medium in the target zone and direct the scattered light to at least one detector, the detector configured to detect the forward intensity of the scattered light and generate an image of the particle; and a computer system coupled with the detector, the computer system configured to execute a set of programmed instructions to identify and classify the particle, the instructions causing the computer system to: determine whether the forward intensity of the scattered light is within a pre-determined range, when it is determined that the intensity is within the pre-determined range, then determine a shape associated with the particle based on the image of the particle, and assign a classification type to the particle based on the forward intensity and the shape.