flowClean

flowClean detects and flags fluorescence anomalies in flow cytometry acquisition by monitoring changes in cell subset frequencies in centered log ratio (CLR) compositional space to improve data quality for downstream analysis.

Key Features:

• Detection of Fluorescence Anomalies: Identifies fluorescence anomalies arising from fluid-dynamic fluctuations during sample acquisition that produce inconsistent fluorescence measurements over time.
• Centered Log Ratio (CLR) Space Analysis: Tracks cell populations in centered log ratio (CLR) space using compositional data analysis to detect subtle changes in subset frequencies.
• Flagging Aberrant Time Periods: Flags time periods with detected fluorescence anomalies as aberrant events and reports them as a new parameter within a revised data file.
• Enhanced Sensitivity and Consistency: Detects both visually suspicious events and more subtle effects that may be overlooked during manual inspection or other methods.

Scientific Applications:

• Proof-of-concept datasets: Applied to proof-of-concept datasets to demonstrate detection of fluorescence perturbations.
• Vaccine trial flow cytometry: Applied to real-world flow cytometry data from a vaccine trial to assess and ensure data integrity.
• High-throughput, plate-coupled flow cytometry: Supports quality control in high-throughput settings, including plate-reader–coupled systems and large-scale experiments with many measured parameters per sample.

Methodology:

Monitors changes in subset frequencies during acquisition, applies compositional data analysis in centered log ratio (CLR) space to detect fluorescence perturbations that produce false populations, and flags aberrant time periods reported as a new parameter in a revised data file.