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: The formulations, systems, and methods disclosed herein permit automated preparation of specimens (e.g., biological specimens) for examination. The disclosed formulations, 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 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 phases 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 specimens.

Abstract: The formulations, systems, and methods disclosed herein permit automated preparation of specimens (e.g., biological specimens) for examination. The disclosed formulations, 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 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 phases 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 specimens.

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.