Detection and analysis of cells

Abstract

The invention provides a version of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in which all the steps are performed at physiological temperatures, i.e., body temperature, to detect and identify pathogenic bacteria in clinical samples. Methods of the invention use species-specific fluorescent probes to label clinically important infectious bacteria. A sample such as a urine sample is loaded into a cartridge, fluorescently labeled, and imaged with a microscope. Labelled bacteria are pulled down onto an imaging surface and a dye cushion is used to keep unbound probes off of the imaging surface. A microscopic image of the surface shows whether and in what quantities the infectious bacteria are present in the clinical sample.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.