Patent ID: 8310658

Claim:
A method for identifying reticulocytes within a blood sample, comprising the steps of: depositing the sample into an analysis chamber adapted to quiescently hold the sample for analysis, the chamber defined by an interior surface of a first panel, and an interior surface of a second panel, and the chamber has a known or determinable height extending between the interior surfaces of the panels, which height is such that at least one red blood cell, or an aggregate of red blood cells, within the sample contacts both of the interior surfaces; admixing a supravital dye with the sample, which dye is operable to cause reticulin within reticulocytes within the sample to fluoresce when excited by light of one or more predetermined wavelengths; imaging the sample using light that includes the one or more predetermined wavelengths that cause reticulocytes within the sample to fluoresce; imaging the sample using light at one or more predetermined wavelengths that is absorbed by hemoglobin to produce values of optical density on a per image unit basis; and identifying reticulocytes within the sample using the image of the sample created with light at the one or more predetermined wavelengths that causes the dyed reticulin to fluoresce, and using the per image unit optical density values.