Label-free image-encoded microfluidic cell sorter with a scanning high focal depth beam

An image-based particle sorting system, comprising:

• an optical imaging system, including (i) a light source to produce an excitation beam, (ii) an optical shape-forming device to modify a shape of the excitation beam to have an increased focal depth that is to be directed at an interrogation area of a particle-flow channel, (iii) an optical scanning device to scan for one or more light beams at the interrogation area, (iv) one or more spatial filters arranged in an optical path of the directed shape-modified excitation beam, and (v) one or more optical detectors to obtain image data of individual particles flowing in a carrier fluid through the interrogation area of the particle flow device from the one or more scanned light beams;
• a data processing system comprising at least one processor and at least one memory and in communication with the optical imaging system and configured to process the image data obtained by the optical imaging device to determine one or more properties associated with the individual particles flowing in the carrier fluid and to produce a control command based on a comparison of the determined one or more properties with a sorting criteria, wherein the control command is produced in real time during flowing of the individual particles in the particle-flow channel;
• and
• a particle sorting system in communication with the data processing system and disposed in the optical path of the optical imaging system, the particle sorting system including a particle flow device and an actuator device operably coupled to the particle flow device, wherein the particle flow device comprises a substrate including the particle-flow channel and a plurality of output channels branching from the particle-flow channel to receive, in one output channel of the plurality of output channels, sorted particles directed by the actuator device based on the control command.