Detection of circulating tumor cells using imaging flow cytometry
US8131053B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 28, 2008 |
| Grant date | Mar 6, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 9, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2021/6441
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Photometric and morphometric features derived from multi-mode imagery of cells in flow are used as a cell analyzer to determine if a marker corresponding to a cancer cell or precancerous cell is present in the population of cells imaged. An imaging system simultaneously acquires a plurality of images for each cell passing through the field of view of the imaging system. Acquiring a plurality of different images (i.e., bright field, dark field, and fluorescent images) facilitates the determination of different morphological and morphometric parameters. Simultaneously acquiring the plurality of images enables relatively large populations of cells to be rapidly imaged, so that relatively small numbers of cancer cells in a large population of cells can be detected. Initially, known cancer cells are imaged to enable a marker to be identified. Then, a sample that may include cancer cells is imaged to determine if the marker is present.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.