  Integrating optical diffraction tomography with imaging flow cytometry
enables label-free quantifications of the three-dimensional (3D) morphology and
hemoglobin content of red blood cells (RBCs) in their natural form.
Self-rotation of RBCs flowing in a microfluidic channel has been utilized to
achieve various projection directions for 3D reconstruction. However, the
practicality of this technique has not been sufficiently studied. We improved
the accuracy of estimating the rotation angle of RBCs and demonstrated 3D
reconstructions of both healthy and glutaraldehyde-treated RBCs. Results showed
the capability to quantify changes in RBC morphology, hemoglobin content, and
membrane fluctuations generated by glutaraldehyde treatments, demonstrating the
potential to detect changes frequently present in various RBC membrane
disorders.
