Summary of Activities:

The subject of research is a study for hybrid-system in automated cytology. Before the study, I had to learn and inspect various types of instruments for flow cytometry, since Japanese researchers are acquainted with the instruments fabricated based on image processing system but not familiar with that based on flow-through system. To fulfill the aim, I studied at NIH and made technical visits to the Biomedical Sciences Division of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (Livermore, CA.), the Division of Bio-Physics & Instrumentation of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LOS Alamos, New Mexico), Department of Pathology of University of Rochester (Rochester, NY.) and the Department of Pathology of Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases (New York, NY.). I also visited Coulter Electronics Inc. (Concord, MA.), Ortho Instruments (Westwood, MA.) and Becton Dickinson FACS System (Sunnyvale, CA.). I participated in the US-Japan Seminar for Automated Cytology (at Los Angeles, CA.) and Engineering Foundation Conference on Automated Cytology VII (at Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA.), and introduced one of my studies for automated cytology.
I learned enough knowledge and technological considerations which might be sufficient to fabricate a laser flow cytometer. I recognized that one kind of the hybrid systems had been fabricated at Rochester University. They are called the swept slit image correlation system and the X-Y-Z slit-scan system.
At NIH, I discussed with Dr. Judith Prewitt about several techniques on image processing for automated cytology. They had also compared various techniques used in flow cytometry and in computer processing of biomedical image. On image processing, I discussed with Prof. G. L. Wied, University of Chicago (Chicago Ill.) and Dr. K. Castleman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA.), about technical problems lying in the research for automated cytology, especially, about utilizations of color images and statistical evaluation method of cyto-prescreener. On laser flow cytometer, I learned mechanisms of the dual beam system, the scatter-light analysis system, the slit-scan system and basic scheme at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Rochester University and Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, respectively I evaluated jet-in-air system at Becton Dickinson and closed system at Ortho Instruments. I gained in knowledge of various kinds of research fields, fluorescence energy transfer theory and historical achievements in flow cytometry during the days of the Conference and the seminar.
Judging from the prospective broad application and future of the flow cytometry, it is indispensable to fabricate a laser flow cytometer by Japanese technology for sound progress in such researches in Japan. The gained knowledge in the area and further collaboration with the American scientists will help Japan when it is possible to start to develop a new laser flow cytometer.