| abstract |
An optical screening method and apparatus (10, 28, 46) for identifying both the morphology and selected characteristics or properties expressed by cells, such as cancer cells. The cells are combined with one or more different sets of microspheres (64, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 104, 110, 116, 122, 124), each set having a reactant bond thereto which will bind to a specific molecule which can exist on one or more types of cancer cells. The cells and microspheres are formed as a smear on a slide, stained with a histological type stain and optically viewed to identify the type of cells to which the different sets of microspheres do or do not bind. The different sets of microspheres are optically differentiated by having different optical characteristics, such as size, shape, color or combinations thereof. A fast cancer cell screening method or panel is provided by adding different sets of microspheres having different reactants bound thereto to different sample portions and optically screening the different sample smears. The microspheres also can be removed from a sample portion with any cells bound thereto and compared to another non-modified sample portion to ascertain if the cancer cells of interest have been removed from the sample portion. |