Toward the development of an optical technique for identifying and imaging white blood cells in whole blood

Abstract

Abstract An optical-disk-based system was developed to obtain images of blood cells for healthcare applications. The blood cells on the disk are scanned using a laser, and the intensity data of reflected or transmitted light from the sample are collected and reconstructed to form an image. Images of red and white blood cells were successfully obtained and both types of blood cells were visually distinguishable in the transmitted-light image. Our method is promising for finding a specific cell, among many other types, since the optical-disk system can scan a large area at high speed.