Flow type particle image analyzing method and apparatus

Claim 1

A flow type particle imaging analyzing apparatus in which a sample fluid containing suspended particles is flown while being closed with a purity solution, a light beam is irradiated to said sample fluid, said particles in said sample fluid are imaged by an imaging means, and produced images are analyzed in order to categorize said particles, said flow type particle imaging analyzing apparatus comprising: a light beam generating means for generating a beam to be irradiated to said sample fluid; a flow chamber designed to flow said sample fluid enclosed with said purity solution and structured so that a dimension of a flow path for said sample fluid in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of said light beam remains substantially constant; a particle detecting means for detecting whether or not particles are present in a given zone upstream of said particle imaging zone in said flow chamber; a beam generation control means for driving said beam generating means according to a detected signal sent from said particle detecting means; an image analyzing means for analyzing images that are produced with the same power for imaging by said imaging means so as to categorize said particles in said sample fluid; and a flow channel control means that controls the ratio of a flow rate of a sample fluid to be flown into said flow chamber to the one of a purity solution to be flown thereinto so as to control a dimension of said sample fluid is said direction in which a beam travels, and thus enables setting of a plurality of measurement modes in association with types of particles to be measured wherein said plurality of measurement modes has at least one measurement mode in which said image analyzing means has a depth of field smaller than said dimension of said sample fluid in said direction in which said beam travels.