Systems and methods for diagnosing a fluidics system and determining data processing settings for a flow cytometer

A system to determine data processing settings for a flow cytometer comprising:

• a flow cell configured to flow calibration particles;
• at least two light sources each configured to emit a light beam, wherein each light beam is associated with a channel and, wherein the light beams pass through the flow cell;
• a detector associated with each channel wherein each detector is configured to collect light emitted from each of the set of calibration beads;
• a memory buffer configured to record data from each of the detectors;
• a trigger channel configured to initiate a transfer of data from a first data collection time window associated with the trigger channel when a data signal threshold for the trigger channel is exceeded;
• a second channel configured to transfer data from a second data collection time window associated with the second channel when the data signal threshold for the trigger channel is exceeded wherein the start of the second data collection time window is based on a spatial path between the trigger channel and second channel;
• a trigger processor configured to:
• transfer the data from the first data collection time window to a data storage each time the data signal intensity threshold is exceeded;
• and
• transfer the data from the second data collection time window to the data storage each time the data signal intensity threshold is exceeded;
• a computer processor configured analyze a distribution of data intensity peak times within the second data collection time window and calculate a time delay based on the distribution of data intensity peak times in the second data collection time window to modify the size of, to shift, or to modify the size of and shift the second data collection time window.