Abstract
It has recently been shown that quantitative phase imaging methods can provide clinically relevant parameters for red blood cell analysis with unprecedented detail and sensitivity. Since the quantitative phase information is dependent on both the thickness and refractive index, a major limitation to clinical translation has been a simple and practical approach to measure both simultaneously. Here we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that, by combining quantitative phase with a single absorption measurement, it is possible to measure both quantities at the single cell level. We validate this approach by comparing our results to those acquired using a clinical blood analyzer. This approach to decouple the thickness and refractive index for red blood cells may be used with any quantitative phase imaging method that can operate in tandem with bright field microscopy at the Soret-band wavelength.
Highlights
Current clinical technologies for analyzing red blood cells have remained essentially unchanged since the invention of impedance counters and flow cytometers
These limitations mean that if an abnormality is detected by an automated counter, pathologists must rely on manual qualitative analysis of blood smears for information on single cells
We provide the proof of principle of a novel combination of the quantitative phase information measured using a Spatial Light Interference Microscope (SLIM) [26,27], with a bright field absorption measurement acquired in the Soret band
Summary
Current clinical technologies for analyzing red blood cells have remained essentially unchanged since the invention of impedance counters and flow cytometers These methods provide high throughput measurements, the information provided is generally limited to population level statistics for morphology and bulk measurement in the case of hemoglobin concentration [1,2]. Since the measurement of hemoglobin is of fundamental importance to blood analysis, several techniques such as Raman Imaging [5], magnetophoresis and gravitation sedimentation [6], FRET based sensing [7] and scattering based measurements [8] among many others have been developed These methods require complicated sample preparation or measurement procedures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
