flow cytometry

Description

A lab test used to measure the number of cells and percentage of live cells in a sample, as well as certain characteristics of cells, such as size, shape, amount of DNA and the presence of tumour markers.

During flow cytometry, cells in a sample are stained with a light-sensitive dye, placed in a fluid and passed in a thin stream in front of a laser or other light source. The measurements are based on how the light-sensitive dye reacts to the light.