| 摘要 |
The present invention relates to a particle characterisation apparatus in which particles suspended in a liquid are passed through an aperture, in principle one by one, to enable characterisation of the particles, for instance by Coulter counting. In particular the present invention relates to an apparatus for characterizing particles suspended in a liquid sample, comprising a housing with a mixing chamber 3 and a collection chamber separated by a wall containing an aperture 59 for passage of particles between the mixing chamber 3 and the collection chamber 5, the mixing chamber 3 further containing a mixing member, a first electrode 34 in the mixing chamber 3 and a second electrode 35 in the collection chamber 5 for conduction of an electrical current through the aperture 59, a processor that is adapted for controlling the measurement sequence of the apparatus and detect possible blockage of the aperture by detecting extended duration of the electrical pulse caused by the blocking particle, and upon detection of a blockage, reverse the liquid flow while mixing in the mixing chamber for removal of the blocking particle, and restart particle counting. Experiments show that most particles blocking an aperture are removed in the apparatus according to the present invention. A 75% decrease of non-successful measurements was achieved.
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