Apparatus for characterizing and measuring the concentration of opaque particles within a fluid sample
US7394545B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 11, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jul 1, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2021/0346
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and method for counting opaque particles within a fluid sample. The system uses an optical lens system to focus a light beam onto a sample on a multi-dimensional translation stage. The translation stage is moved in a pattern such that the intensity of the transmitted light is measured as a function of path length. A photo detector is used to measure the transmitted light through the sample. An analog-to-digital converter quantifies the transmitted light intensity. Changes in light intensity along the path length are correlated with the detection of an opaque particle. Data processing algorithms are implemented to automatically determine the background noise level associated with the acquired data and to set a discriminator level above which a particle is registered. The total number of particles and an areal density is reported along with an estimate of the uncertainty.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.