Development of an accoustic and photoacoustic flow cytometer

这项研究的主要目标是开发一种自动细胞分析仪，使用声波来计算细胞的数量、大小并确定细胞的形态和内部结构。在该装置中，激光器和超声换能器被集成到微流控流动系统中，在该系统中，细胞逐个流过靶区。每个细胞受到超声波(从细胞反射)和激光脉冲(从细胞产生光声波)的照射。每种细胞类型都有独特的声学特征，可以根据这些特征确定细胞的大小、形态和内部结构。这些参数可以使用信号处理方法提取，然后用于识别每种细胞类型。与颗粒分析仪中使用的其他方法相比，高频声波具有明显的优势，因为它们对细胞的形态和内部结构高度敏感，为识别样本中的每种细胞类型提供了更高的灵敏度和特异性。使用这项技术的应用包括检查血液样本以识别血液病理，以及检测循环中的肿瘤细胞。血液中循环肿瘤细胞的识别可以作为癌症进展的早期预警系统，在患者出现症状之前，最终改善患者的治疗，并降低死亡率和医疗成本。

The main objective of this study is to develop an automated cell analyzer that counts, sizes, and determines the morphology and internal structure of cells using sound waves. In this device, a laser and an ultrasound transducer are integrated into a microfluidic flow system where cells are streamed through the target area one by one. Each cell is irradiated by an ultrasound wave (which is reflected from the cell) and a laser pulse (which produces a photoacoustic wave from the cell). Each cell type has a unique acoustic signature, from which the size, morphology, and internal structure can be determined. These parameters can be extracted using signal processing methods, and then used to identify each cell type. High-frequency sound waves have distinct advantages over other methods used in particle analyzers as they are highly sensitive to the morphology and internal structure of cells, providing increased sensitivity and specificity for the identification of each cell type in a sample. Applications pursued using this technology include examination of blood samples for the identification of blood pathologies, and the detection of circulating tumor cells. Identification of circulating tumor cells in the blood can be used as an early warning system for cancer progression prior to the patient showing symptoms, ultimately improving patient treatment, and lowering mortality rates and healthcare costs.