The present disclosure describes an apparatus and method of improving temperature uniformity and suppressing well plate warping. In an embodiment, the apparatus includes a barrier configured to be positioned above at least one well configured to contain a liquid sample, where a vessel includes the at least one well, where the vessel is transparent and is configured to be placed within a measurement chamber, where a light measurement apparatus includes the measurement chamber, where the light measurement apparatus is configured to measure light scattered from the liquid sample, where the barrier is configured to seal the at least one well from the measurement chamber, and a weighted lid configured to press a bottom surface of the vessel against a well plate retainer of the measurement chamber, thereby spreading heat among the at least one well and preventing the vessel from warping.

Aspects of the present disclosure include systems for irradiating particles in a flow stream. Systems according to certain embodiments include a light source having a first laser configured for continuous irradiation of a flow stream and a second laser configured for irradiation of the flow stream in discrete intervals where each discrete interval of irradiation by the second laser is triggered by irradiation of a particle in the flow stream with the first laser. Methods for irradiating a sample in a flow stream with the subject light sources are also described. Computer readable storage medium for practicing the subject methods are provided. Kits having one or more lasers are also provided.

A system for characterizing at least one particle from a fluid sample is disclosed. The system includes a filter disposed upstream of an outlet, and a luminaire configured to illuminate the at least one particle at an oblique angle. An imaging device is configured to capture and process images of the illuminated at least one particle as it rests on the filter for characterizing the at least one particle. A system for characterizing at least one particle using bright field illumination is also disclosed. A method for characterizing particulates in a fluid sample using at least one of oblique angle and bright field illumination is also disclosed.

The present disclosure relates to quality control for point-of-care medical diagnostic systems. In various embodiments, the system includes an on-board storage containing a synthetic quality control material, a plurality of sub-systems having a plurality of operating parameters and including a material analyzer, a database storing quality control results that include results of the material analyzer analyzing the synthetic quality control material over time, one or more processors, and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to, automatically without user intervention: generate a control chart based on the quality control results, determine that a parameter of the plurality of operating parameters is out-of-tolerance based on the control chart, and adjust at least one of the plurality of sub-systems without user intervention to bring the out-of-tolerance parameter to within tolerance.

An apparatus and method for isolating bacterial particles in a sample using a container with material in temporary fluid blocking position to lower orifice in the container, a separation medium having an electrical conductivity lower than and physical density greater than that of the sample above the material that supports a sample concentrate after passing through the separation medium when exposed to centrifugal force, a heating element for liquefying the material to permit flow into a chamber past an electrode array that attracts and holds subject particles. The system allows rapid detection and isolation of particles from samples from animal, human, environmental sites, a bio-industrial reactor or a food or beverage production facility requiring relatively small volumes, short incubation times resulting in structurally intact particles for further analysis. Testing may be completed in a single unit that requires decreased technician manipulation, fewer steps and a decrease in cross-contamination.

A method of operating a pore field-effect transistor (FET) sensor for detecting particles, wherein the pore FET sensor comprises a FET wherein a gate is controlled by a pore filled by a fluid, comprises: controlling a first voltage (V.sub.cis) to set the FET in a subthreshold region; controlling a second voltage (V.sub.trans) to set a voltage difference between the first and second voltages (V.sub.trans) such that an effective difference in gate voltage experienced between a minimum and a maximum effective gate voltage during movement of a particle in the fluid is at least kT/q; and detecting a drain-source current in the FET, wherein the particle passing through the pore modulates the drain-source current for detecting presence of the particle.

A particulate matter sensing device includes an inlet through which air is introduced, a particle classifying unit classifying particles included in air introduced through the inlet, a corona discharging unit electrifying the particles passing through the particle classifying unit, and a sensing unit collecting the particles electrified by the corona discharging unit, in which the sensing unit includes an electrode having a plurality of intervals to collect the particles electrified by the sensing unit, and a control unit determining whether fine particles are detected, based on a result of monitoring an output signal change of the electrode.

The invention relates to a method for detecting a dengue infection in a patient blood sample, comprising the steps: a) Performing an analysis of prespecified parameters of blood platelets and prespecified types of blood cells in the sample and determining parameter values for the prespecified parameters of the platelets and the prespecified types of cells; b) Obtaining sample parameters from the values determined in step a); and c) Evaluating the sample parameters in relation to a prespecified criterion, wherein, if the criterion is fulfilled, a dengue infection is present.

A mesoscale fluidic system comprises a substrate having a sample chamber and an analysis chamber. The sample chamber comprises a cell permeable filter defining a sample application compartment and a conditioning medium compartment. The sample chamber has a sample inlet port in the sample application compartment. The analysis chamber has an entry port and an exit port. The conditioning medium compartment is in fluid communication with the entry port of the analysis chamber via a channel. The sample application compartment is below the cell permeable filter and the conditioning medium compartment is above the cell permeable filter. The mesoscale fluidic system is suited for analysing cellular motility in a sample. Also disclosed is a method of estimating the quantity of motile cells in a sample and a method of extracting motile cells from non-motile cells.

Provided is a high efficiency and high sensitivity particle capture type terahertz sensing system. The particle capture type terahertz sensing system includes a sensing substrate to capture particles, and a terahertz sensor to emit terahertz electromagnetic waves to the sensing substrate to sense the particles, wherein the sensing substrate includes a base substrate and a particle capture structure layer formed on the base substrate, the particle capture structure layer includes a plurality of slits for focusing the terahertz electromagnetic waves, the particle capture structure layer captures the particles in the plurality of slits using dielectrophoresis, and an area in which the terahertz electromagnetic waves converge to the plurality of slits matches an area in which the particles are captured in the plurality of slits through the dielectrophoresis.