Patent ID: 7193706

Claim:
An automated method for screening and selecting cells, the method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate with multiple locations; immobilizing a plurality of cells exhibiting an imagable property when excited, either onto or within said substrate; detecting the imagable property by scanning a first light beam across the substrate to excite the imagable property of the cells; recording the imagable property; determining an excited state lifetime of the imagable property for each of the cells; identifying and recording locations containing cells expressing a desired characteristic and locations not containing cells expressing the desired characteristic, based on the excited state lifetimes of the cells; generating a kill image from the excited state lifetimes and the locations of the cells; applying a sensitizing agent to the substrate, wherein the sensitizing agent is selected to render the cells sensitive to light at a particular sensitizing wavelength; and scanning a second light beam, according to the kill image, having a wavelength that is a multiple of the sensitizing wavelength across the substrate through a high speed shutter, wherein the shutter is open only when the light beam is positioned over locations not containing cells expressing the desired characteristic of the imagable property to thereby kill the cells in such locations.