System and Method for Measuring Particles in a Sample Stream of a Flow Cytometer or the Like

A system for interrogating a particle in a sample stream of a flow cytometer or the like, said system comprising

• a low powered laser pointer for generating a light beam;
• a fluidics apparatus for transporting said particle in said sample stream at substantially low velocity through said light beam for interrogation thereof;
• at least one detector for detecting optical signals resulting from said light beam impinging on said particle;
• and
• and signal conditioning circuitry, operably coupled to said detector(s), for conditioning output signals from said detector(s) into electronic signals for processing thereof, said signal conditioning circuitry including low pass filter circuitry for filtering high frequency noise from said detected signals.

A method for analyzing a particle in a sample stream of a flow cytometer or the like, said method comprising

• generating a low power laser beam;
• transporting said particle at substantially low velocity in said sample stream through said laser beam for interrogation thereof,
• detecting light signals generated in response to said laser beam impinging on said particle, and
• and signal conditioning said detected light signals into electronic signals for processing thereof, said step of signal conditioning comprising filtering high frequency noise from said detected light signals.