Patent ID: 8569076

Claim:
A method for performing a serologic agglutination assay for one or more target analyte antibodies in a liquid sample, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a thin planar chamber having opposed planar surfaces, at least one of which is transparent, which chamber has a height that is equal to or less than 20 μm; b) placing an effective amount of detectable first particles in said planar chamber, said first particles containing on their surfaces an antigen against which the target analyte antibodies are directed; c) placing control particles, similar in size and shape to said first particles, in said chamber, said control particles differing from said first particles in color, and said control particles being devoid of said antigens, and disposing a volume of sample within the thin planar chamber such that at least a portion of the sample contacts both opposed planar surfaces of the chamber; d) allowing or causing said detectable first particles and said sample to admix with each other whereby said target analyte antibodies, when present, will cause agglutination of said detectable first particles; e) electronically imaging or scanning said admixture to detect individual aggregates of particles by analysis of patterns of pixel intensity resulting from aggregation of detected particles; and f) determining the presence or absence of significant particle agglutination by comparing signals of any aggregated first particles with signals of any aggregated control particles.