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Abstract

An apparatus and method for determining a property of a sample, derived from a response obtained from the sample after an electrical pulse has been applied to it. Blood cells are subjected to an electrical pulse, a response is obtained using data retrieval means and a Fourier Transform is applied to the response. As the pulse applied is of very short duration (ideally a Dirac pulse) the Fourier transform yields information across a very broad bandwidth, typically several MHz, and accordingly a wide range of frequency response data is obtained. Certain cellular defects can be deduced from the transformed data. A detector is provided to detect precisely the presence of a cell as it passes through a particular region of an oriface. This is then used to trigger the pulse at a precisely controlled instant. This reduces the effect of random dispersion and can be adapted to ignore noise peaks which inevitably occur. The invention may be operated continuously and provides information across a bandwidth which is wider than was previously possible.

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First Claim