title: How does flow cytometry express Gaussian distributed biological information?
abstract: The analogue-to-digital conversion step in flow cytometric analysis introduces a positive skew into the distribution of any measured parameter. In this communication we describe a semi-analytical method to determine if a distribution skewed by the analogue-to-digital conversion step is compatible with a Gaussian origin. The procedure involves determining the errors associated with calculating the coefficient of variation from the skewed distribution and applying systematic corrections. The method was tested with a number of experimental data sets and is illustrated with 3 distributions. One of these was not compatible with a Gaussian origin, but the other 2 were, in spite of considerable positive skewness in the data.
mesh_terms: D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans