Patent ID: 7189357

Claim:
An immunological assay system, comprising: a filter vessel capable of containing an assay sample of red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets, wherein the filter vessel comprises a filter material chosen from at least one of the following: polyester mesh, nylon mesh, polycarbonate track-etched membrane, cellulose acetate membrane, and polyvinylidene difluoride filter membrane, the filter material including a plurality of pores with a pore size from about 3 microns to about 5 microns; an incubator in which the filter vessel may be placed, wherein the incubator houses the filter vessel while the assay sample and one or more reagent antibodies react; a sample separation system in close proximity to the incubator, wherein the sample separation system is designed to separate the mixture of the assay sample and the reagent antibodies into various components; an image acquisition system in close proximity to the sample separation system, wherein the image acquisition system consists of a flow cytometer, the flow cytometer being designed to detect the presence of interactions between reagent antibodies and the assay sample cells, wherein said interactions are evidenced by at least one of agglutinations and antigen-antibody interactions; and a robotic pipettor including a robotic arm within reaching distance of the filter vessel, the incubator, the sample separation system and the image acquisition system, wherein the robotic pipettor is designed to transfer the assay sample or the reagent antibodies between the filter vessel, incubator, the sample separation system and the image acquisition system.