Method and apparatus for determining the hematocrit of a blood sample utilizing the intrinsic pigmentation of hemoglobin contained within the red blood cells
US7951599B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 20, 2009 |
| Grant date | May 31, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 20, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N33/86
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for determining the hematocrit of a blood sample is provided that includes the steps of: 1) depositing the sample into an analysis chamber operable to quiescently hold the sample for analysis, the chamber defined by the interior surfaces of first and second panels and a height extending there between, wherein both panels are transparent, and the height is such that at least some of the red blood cells within the sample contact both interior surfaces of the panels and one or more lacunae within the quiescent sample extend between the interior surfaces; 2) imaging at least a portion of the quiescent sample, which sample portion contains the red blood cells and one or more lacunae to determine an optical density of the imaged portion of the sample on a per image unit basis; 3) selecting and averaging the optical density values of the image units aligned with the red blood cells contacting the interior surfaces, and assigning an upper boundary value of 100% to the average optical density value of those image units; 4) selecting the optical density values of the image units aligned with the one or more lacunae, and assigning a lower boundary value of 0% to the optical density v…
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