Abstract: A microfluidic impedance flow cytometer (‘MIC’) device (2) comprises a substrate (4) in which is formed at least one flow channel (6) for leading through a particle (22) containing fluidic sample. The flow channel (6) is formed with a focusing zone (12) and a measurement zone (14) located downstream of the focusing zone (12) in the direction of through flow and provided with an electrode arrangement (18) for characterising particles (22) in the flowing fluidic sample by means of electrical impedance wherein an acoustophoretic particle focusing arrangement (20) is provided in acoustic coupling to the flow channel (6) in the focusing zone (12) to induce acoustic forces in fluid in the flow channel (6) so as to effect a lateral and/or vertical focusing of particles before flowing to the measurement zone (14).

Abstract: An optical spectrometer (102) comprises an adjustable sampling space (104) having two generally opposing, relatively movable, side-walls (106,108) which are here substantially formed of optically translucent material and between which in use a sample for analysis is charged and an actuator (116) mechanically coupled, here via a worm drive (118), to one or both of the opposing side-walls (108) and operable in response to a command signal applied thereto to effect their relative movement. The spectrometer (102) further comprises an optical position sensor (110,112,114) adapted to detect interference fringes generated by optical energy traversing the distance between the side-walls (106,108) a plurality of times and to generate the command signal in dependence thereof and preferably also adapted to generate an output indexing intensity against an indication of wavelength usable in the spectrometric analysis of a sample material within the sampling space (104).

Abstract: A method of controlling a production process including a process step for the morphological modification of a bio-material matrix comprises obtaining digital input data acquired during each of a plurality of production runs of the process, which input data includes information from radiation within a portion of the electromagnetic or acoustic spectrum having interacted with the matrix at one or more locations within the process together with a process control parameter and production event data for the associated production run; generating in a computer a prediction model from a multivariate analysis of the digital input data, which model links the information directly with one or more of process control parameters, production run events and process control settings; and applying in the computer the prediction model to interacted information obtained from a new production run to generate as an output one or more of a process control parameter a process control event and a predicted production run event for th

Abstract: A method of compensating for frequency drift of a reference energy source in an FT interferometer based spectrometer instrument, the method further comprising comparing in an arithmetic unit data representing a reference interferogram and data representing a target interferogram to determining a phase shift between the interferograms in a window W in at least one region away from center-burst and generating in the arithmetic unit a mathematical transform dependent on the determined shift or shifts to be subsequently applied to control the operation of the spectrometer instrument in order to generate data representing a frequency stabilized interferogram of an unknown sample recorded by the FT interferometer.

Abstract: A probe having a probe head in which is formed an opening for receiving a sample to be analyzed, the head comprising a pair of optical interfaces disposed at an opposing inner surface of the opening to delimit a path for optical radiation through the opening, wherein one of the pair of optical interfaces comprises a transparent element adapted to permit optical radiation in one or more wavelength regions of interest to travel between the probe head and the opening, the optical probe comprising a movable diaphragm in which one of the pair of optical interfaces is located for movement therewith and an actuator operably connected to the diaphragm to control its movement so as to vary the path length wherein the probe head comprises a hinge system cooperable with the actuator to move the optical interface in the movable diaphragm in an arc to vary the path length.

Abstract: A method of compensating for amplitude drift in a spectrometer comprising: making successive performances of a standardisation process to generate, at each performance, a mathematical transform to compensate for amplitude drift for application by an arithmetic unit to a spectrum obtained by the spectrometer in an interval between the performances; modifying the mathematical transform with a function dependent on spectral data from a zero material measured in association with the standardisation process and the single beam zero spectrum measured in an interval between performances; and applying the modified mathematical transform to a spectrum from an unknown sample.

Abstract: A spectrometric instrument comprising: a scanning interferometer having a beamsplitter for dividing incident optical radiation into a reflected beam, following a reflected beam path and a transmitted beam following a transmitted beam path; a monochromatic optical radiation source for launching a reference beam into the interferometer along a first propagation path to be initially incident on a first face of the beamsplitter; an observation optical radiation source for launching a divergent observation beam into the interferometer along a second propagation path to be initially incident on the first face of beamsplitter and overlap the reference beam at the first face; wherein the radiation sources cooperate to generate a first angle between the directions of propagation of the two beams along respective first and second propagation paths when initially and simultaneously incident at the first face which is larger than a divergence half-angle of the observation beam 64.

Abstract: A system for the measurement of free and bound SO2 in a liquid beverage product sample comprising a sample container having a volume sufficient to provide a headspace above the sample into which a gas can pass; a gas flow system adapted to extract gas from the headspace and recirculating it back into the liquid volume; a measurement system configured to monitor a time dependent evolution of SO2 in gas from the gas flow system; and a dosing apparatus fluidly connected to the container to supply an hydrolysis reagent thereto. A heater unit is provided for supplying thermal radiation into the container to elevate the temperature of sample therein sufficient to facilitate the hydrolysis reaction and a signal processor operates to deconvolute the monitored evolution to generate an indication of the concentration of each of the free SO2 and the total SO2 content of the sample.

Abstract: A method of determining components of a flowing heterogeneous sample comprising obtaining a sample of material; measuring mid-infrared attenuation values of the sample and calculating in a data processing unit an indication of the component of interest in the sample from the measured mid-infrared attenuation values characterised in that the method further comprises flowing the sample; concurrently interacting mid-infrared radiation with the flowing sample in a measurement region and subsequently measuring the mid-infrared attenuation values for one or more wavebands of the interacted radiation.

Abstract: A spectrometric instrument comprising: a scanning interferometer having a beamsplitter for dividing incident optical radiation into a reflected beam, following a reflected beam path and a transmitted beam following a transmitted beam path; a monochromatic optical radiation source for launching a reference beam into the interferometer along a first propagation path to be initially incident on a first face of the beamsplitter; an observation optical radiation source for launching a divergent observation beam into the interferometer along a second propagation path to be initially incident on the first face of beamsplitter and overlap the reference beam at the first face; wherein the radiation sources cooperate to generate a first angle between the directions of propagation of the two beams along respective first and second propagation paths when initially and simultaneously incident at the first face which is larger than a divergence half-angle of the observation beam 64.

Abstract: A method for determining a degree of infection comprising the steps of i) preparing an un-isolated sample by adding a differentiating marker, suitably a meta-chromatic stain such as, for example, acridine orange to mammalian milk in an amount sufficient to provide a differentiation between cell types; ii) measuring a differential somatic cell count on the sample by means of a cytometer having a detection system sensitive to differences in the differentiating marker resulting from the marker becoming differently associated with different cell types in the sample; and iii) determining an indication of a degree of infection dependent on the measured differential cell count.

Abstract: A probe having a probe head in which is formed an opening for receiving a sample to be analysed, the head comprising a pair of optical interfaces disposed at an opposing inner surface of the opening to delimit a path for optical radiation through the opening, wherein one of the pair of optical interfaces comprises a transparent element adapted to permit optical radiation in one or more wavelength regions of interest to travel between the probe head and the opening, the optical probe comprising a movable diaphragm in which one of the pair of optical interfaces is located for movement therewith and an actuator operably connected to the diaphragm to control its movement so as to vary the path length wherein the probe head comprises a hinge system cooperable with the actuator to move the optical interface in the movable diaphragm in an arc to vary the path length.

Abstract: An analyser is provided comprising a sample chamber for holding a liquid sample containing particles and an ultrasound source acoustically couplable to the sample chamber to supply resonant ultrasound energy for acoustically concentrating particles in the liquid sample in nodal planes established thereby. A probe is also provided which is adapted to supply electromagnetic energy into the sample chamber and to receive the supplied electromagnetic energy from the sample chamber at least during a time at which particles are substantially concentrated in associated nodal planes. The analyser is provided with an analysis unit in operable connection to a detector of the optical probe and is adapted to determine one or both a quantitative and a qualitative property of the liquid sample from the received electromagnetic energy.

Abstract: A scanning optical interferometer (40) having a beamsplitter (42); a first input path (56) for an observation beam (52) and a second input path (78) for a reference beam (76) wherein both paths (56; 78) are directed towards the same beamsplitter (42) characterised in that the interferometer is configured with the first input path (56) and the second input path (78) intersecting at a location (L) before the beamsplitter (42) and in that the interferometer further comprises a dichroic filter (80) located at the intersection (L) of the two paths (56; 78) and acting to collocate both paths (56;78) in a direction towards the beamsplitter (42).

Abstract: An apparatus for spectrophotometric analysis comprises a sample reception surface, which is arranged to receive a sample to be analyzed, and a sample contacting surface, which is moveable in relation to the sample reception surface such that it may be brought to a first position, where the surfaces are sufficiently far apart to allow the sample to be placed on the sample reception surface, and a second position, where the sample contacting surface makes contact with the sample and compresses the sample. The apparatus further comprises a sample thickness controller, which is arranged to control the distance between the sample reception surface and the sample contacting surface in the second position of the sample contacting surface, such that a sample thickness between the surfaces may be shifted for obtaining at least two measurements of the sample at different optical path lengths through the sample.

Abstract: An apparatus for spectrophotometric analysis comprises a sample reception surface, which is arranged to receive a sample to be analysed, and a sample contacting surface, which is moveable in relation to the sample reception surface such that it may be brought to a first position, where the surfaces are sufficiently far apart to allow the sample to be placed on the sample reception surface, and a second position, where the sample contacting surface makes contact with the sample and compresses the sample. The apparatus further comprises a sample thickness controller, which is arranged to control the distance between the sample reception surface and the sample contacting surface in the second position of the sample contacting surface, such that a sample thickness between the surfaces may be shifted for obtaining at least two measurements of the sample at different optical path lengths through the sample.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for manipulation of particles (30) in a sample liquid (32) said device comprising a source of ultrasound (16) capable of emitting ultrasound with a given wavelength, an inlet for a sample liquid (2), one or more outlets (4, 5, 6) and a compartment (14), being dimensioned to support a standing ultrasonic wave (40) of said wavelength, characterised in that the device further comprises an inlet for sheath liquid (1, 3) configured to direct a sheath liquid (34) to extend substantially in parallel to an anti-node plane (46) of the ultrasonic standing wave (40) proximate to a sheathed compartment wall. Specifically the device may be used in combination with a particle enumeration device for enumeration of somatic cells in milk.

Abstract: A method of formulating a feedstuff is provided which comprises the steps of: analysing the effect on one or both chemical and biological properties of the feedstuff of varying feedstuff ingredients and analysing the effect on the ingredient cost of the feedstuff of varying the feedstuff ingredients. The method further comprises a step of analysing the effect on a predicted production cost of the feedstuff of varying the feedstuff ingredients and a step of determining a desired formulation of a feedstuff for production on the basis of at least the analysed effects on the properties, on the ingredient cost and on the predicted production cost of varying the feedstuff ingredients.

Abstract: The content of casein in milk is determined by two measurements of infrared absorbance in a milk sample by infrared spectrometry before and after a separation of the casein. The casein content is calculated by use of absorbance data recorded during the two absorbance measurements. The new method is considerable faster than the known wet-chemical methods, such as the normal wet chemical reference method for casein determination in milk using a Kjeldahl nitrogen determination of the milk sample, then a coagulation of the milk, and finally a Kjeldahl nitrogen determination of the filtrate. Further the new method provides a more reliable accuracy than the know determination using a single infrared analysis of a milk sample.

Abstract: A spectrophotometer (2) comprising a source of radiation (6), preferably optical radiation, disposed to emit radiation at a plurality of wavelengths towards a sample in a sample holder (4) and a detection arrangement 8 for detecting the radiation after its interaction with the sample. The sample holder (4) is adapted to present a plurality of different path lengths for the emitted radiation through the sample.