The present disclosure describes a single-use test cartridge, blood cell analyzer device, and method for automatically performing microscopic blood cell analysis tasks, such as counting and analyzing blood cells in a biological sample. In one general aspect, a biological sample, such as a measured small amount of whole blood, is placed in a mixing bowl of a disposable test cartridge and then inserted into a hemocytometer. The analyzer also places a known amount of diluent / stain in a mixing bowl and mixes it with blood. The analyzer takes a measured amount of the mixture and dispenses it into the sample cup of the cartridge in fluid communication with the imaging chamber. The geometry of the imaging chamber is chosen so as to maintain the homogeneity of the mixture and prevent blood cells from congesting or clumping as they are transferred into the imaging chamber by the analyzer. Images of all blood cell components in the imaging chamber are counted and analyzed to obtain a complete blood count.
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