Patent ID: 7981661

Claim:
A fluidic system for a flow cytometer with an interrogation zone, the fluidic system comprising: a pump subsystem that pumps sheath fluid from a sheath container into the interrogation zone of the flow cytometer, sample fluid from a sample container into the interrogation zone of the flow cytometer, and waste fluid from the interrogation zone into a waste container; a volume measurement device including a capacitive sensor coupled to at least one measured container, the measured container being the sheath container or waste container, wherein the volume measurement device measures the volume of fluid in the measured container and wherein the capacitive sensor operates in the following modes: a container sense mode—wherein the capacitive sensor senses the discrete presence or absence of the at least one measured container, and a fluid sense mode—wherein the capacitive sensor senses the discrete presence or absence of a fluid inside the at least one measured container; and a controller coupled to the pump subsystem that adjusts the flow rate of one or more of the sheath fluid, the sample fluid, and the waste fluid based on the volume measurement of the fluid in the at least one measured container.