Abstract: A method for determining a mean cell volume for a blood sample includes: illuminating the sample with incident light at a plurality of illumination wavelengths and obtaining a two-dimensional image of the sample at each of the plurality of illumination wavelengths; identifying a plurality of cells that appear in each of the images; for each one of the plurality of cells, determining an integrated optical density corresponding to each of the plurality of illumination wavelengths; for each one of the plurality of cells, determining a cell volume based on the integrated optical densities corresponding to each of the plurality of illumination wavelengths; and determining the mean cell volume for the blood sample from the cell volumes for each one of the plurality of cells.

Abstract: A method of determining a hemoglobin content value of a red blood cell includes: (a) illuminating the cell with incident light at a plurality of illumination wavelengths; (b) obtaining at least one two-dimensional image of the cell corresponding to each illumination wavelength; (c) for each illumination wavelength, determining a mean optical density and a maximum optical density for the cell; (d) determining an area of the cell; (e) for each illumination wavelength, determining a volume of the cell; (f) for each illumination wavelength, determining an integrated optical density for the cell; and (g) determining the hemoglobin content value of the cell based on the area of the cell, the volumes of the cell corresponding to each of the illumination wavelengths, and the integrated optical densities for the cell corresponding to each of the illumination wavelengths.

Abstract: A method of determining a volume of a platelet includes: (a) illuminating the platelet with incident light at a plurality of illumination wavelengths; (b) obtaining at least one two-dimensional image of the platelet corresponding to each illumination wavelength; (c) for each illumination wavelength, determining a mean optical density and a maximum optical density for the platelet; (d) determining an area of the platelet; (e) for each illumination wavelength, determining a volume of the platelet; (f) for each illumination wavelength, determining an integrated optical density for the platelet; and (g) determining the volume of the platelet based on a weighted combination of the area of the platelet, the volumes of the platelet corresponding to each of the illumination wavelengths, and the integrated optical densities for the platelet corresponding to each of the illumination wavelengths.

Abstract: The systems and methods disclosed herein permit automated preparation of biological specimens for examination. The disclosed systems and methods provide fast, efficient, and highly uniform specimen processing using minimal quantities of fluids. The methods include at least a fixing phase for fixing a biological specimen to a substrate such as a microscope slide, a staining phase for staining the specimen, and a rinsing phase for rinsing the specimen. One or more of the fixing, staining, and rinsing phases include one or more agitation cycles for distributing reagents evenly and uniformly across the specimen. The systems can be implemented as a standalone device or as a component in a larger system for preparing and examining biological specimens.

Abstract: Systems and methods analyzing body fluids contain cells including blood, bone marrow, urine, vaginal tissue, epithelial tissue, tumors, semen, and spittle are disclosed. The systems and methods utilize an improved technique for applying a monolayer of cells to a slide and generating a substantially uniform distribution of cells on the slide. Additionally aspects of the invention also relate to systems and method for utilizing multi-color microscopy for improving the quality of images captured by a light receiving device.