Patent ID: 7070739

Claim:
A system for counting particles which are concentrated in a small volume, wherein said system comprises: a container containing liquid in which said particles are concentrated in a localized area within the liquid; a capillary tube; a first pump and a second pump; means for moving said container relative to said capillary tube so that an end of the capillary tube passes into the container and through the liquid to the localized area containing said particles; a flow cell; a light source; and a detector wherein the capillary is capable of removing the localized area containing the particles from the container, and wherein said container comprises an upper centripetal region, a middle region and a lower centrifugal region, and wherein an inner diameter of said upper centripetal region of said container is larger than an inner diameter of said middle region and wherein an inner diameter of said middle region is larger than an inner diameter of said lower centrifugal region.