DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ANALYTICAL CELL IMAGING

In patients having carcinomas tumor cells shed into the blood, enumeration and characterization of these cells offers the opportunity to obtain a "real time" biopsy of the tumor and may improve the management of the disease. The frequency of circulating tumor cells is rare (<1cell/ml) and technology is needed that has sufficient sensitivity and specificity to enumerate and characterize these cells. The present system was developed to provide an immunophenotype, based on fluorescence waveforms as well as images of immunomagnetically-enriched cells. Blood volumes ranging from 7.5-30ml are immunomagnetically enriched for epithelial cells. The sample volume is reduced to 320ul and inserted into an analysis chamber. Upon introduction of the chamber in a magnetic field, the immunomagnetically tagged cells rise out of the sample and align between nickel lines (period 30µm, space 15µm) that are present on the viewing surface of the chamber.