Comprehensive quality control for flow cytometry and CyTOF data. Covers flow rate stability, signal drift, margin events, dead cell exclusion, and batch QC. Use when assessing acquisition quality or identifying problematic samples before analysis.
npx skills add https://github.com/BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill bio-flow-cytometry-cytometry-qc
Reference examples tested with: flowCore 2.14+, ggplot2 3.5+
Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
packageVersion('<pkg>') then ?function_name to verify parametersIf code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed
package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.
"Run quality control on my flow cytometry data" → Assess acquisition quality by checking flow rate stability, signal drift, margin events, and dead cell frequencies to identify problematic samples.
flowAI::flow_auto_qc() for automated anomaly detectionlibrary(flowAI)
library(flowCore)
# Load FCS file
ff <- read.FCS('sample.fcs')
# Run automated QC
# Checks: flow rate, signal stability, dynamic range
qc_result <- flow_auto_qc(
ff,
folder_results = 'qc_output/',
fcs_QC = TRUE, # Export QC'd FCS
html_report = TRUE, # Generate HTML report
mini_report = TRUE # Also make summary
)
# Get cleaned data
ff_clean <- qc_result$fcs
# QC metrics
cat('Original events:', nrow(ff), '\n')
cat('After QC:', nrow(ff_clean), '\n')
cat('Removed:', nrow(ff) - nrow(ff_clean), '(',
round((1 - nrow(ff_clean)/nrow(ff)) * 100, 1), '%)\n')
# Check for acquisition issues via flow rate
check_flow_rate <- function(ff, time_channel = 'Time') {
expr <- exprs(ff)
time <- expr[, time_channel]
# Bin by time
n_bins <- 50
bins <- cut(time, breaks = n_bins, labels = FALSE)
# Events per bin (flow rate proxy)
events_per_bin <- table(bins)
flow_rate <- as.numeric(events_per_bin)
# Calculate metrics
cv <- sd(flow_rate) / mean(flow_rate) * 100
# Detect anomalies (>2 SD from mean)
z_scores <- abs(scale(flow_rate))
anomalies <- which(z_scores > 2)
list(
mean_rate = mean(flow_rate),
cv_percent = cv,
anomaly_bins = anomalies,
stable = cv < 20 && length(anomalies) < 3
)
}
flow_qc <- check_flow_rate(ff)
cat('Flow rate CV:', round(flow_qc$cv_percent, 1), '%\n')
cat('Stable:', flow_qc$stable, '\n')
# Detect signal drift over acquisition time
detect_signal_drift <- function(ff, channels, time_channel = 'Time') {
expr <- exprs(ff)
time <- expr[, time_channel]
n_bins <- 20
bins <- cut(time, breaks = n_bins, labels = FALSE)
drift_results <- lapply(channels, function(ch) {
bin_medians <- tapply(expr[, ch], bins, median, na.rm = TRUE)
# Linear trend
trend <- lm(bin_medians ~ seq_along(bin_medians))
slope <- coef(trend)[2]
r_squared <- summary(trend)$r.squared
# Percent change over acquisition
pct_change <- (tail(bin_medians, 1) - head(bin_medians, 1)) / head(bin_medians, 1) * 100
list(
channel = ch,
slope = slope,
r_squared = r_squared,
percent_change = pct_change,
drift_detected = abs(pct_change) > 10 && r_squared > 0.5
)
})
names(drift_results) <- channels
drift_results
}
marker_channels <- c('CD45', 'CD3', 'CD4', 'CD8')
drift <- detect_signal_drift(ff, marker_channels)
for (ch in names(drift)) {
if (drift[[ch]]$drift_detected) {
cat('DRIFT DETECTED:', ch, '(', round(drift[[ch]]$percent_change, 1), '%)\n')
}
}
# Remove events at detector saturation limits
remove_margin_events <- function(ff, channels = NULL) {
expr <- exprs(ff)
if (is.null(channels)) {
channels <- colnames(expr)
}
# Get channel ranges from FCS parameters
params <- parameters(ff)
margin_mask <- rep(FALSE, nrow(expr))
for (ch in channels) {
if (ch %in% colnames(expr)) {
# Get max range from parameters
idx <- match(ch, params@data$name)
if (!is.na(idx)) {
max_val <- params@data$range[idx]
# Events at max or min are margin events
margin_mask <- margin_mask | (expr[, ch] >= max_val * 0.99) | (expr[, ch] <= 0)
}
}
}
cat('Margin events:', sum(margin_mask), '(', round(mean(margin_mask) * 100, 2), '%)\n')
ff[!margin_mask, ]
}
ff_no_margin <- remove_margin_events(ff, c('FSC-A', 'SSC-A'))
# Exclude dead cells using viability marker
exclude_dead_cells <- function(ff, viability_channel, threshold = NULL) {
expr <- exprs(ff)
viability <- expr[, viability_channel]
if (is.null(threshold)) {
# Auto-threshold using bimodal distribution
# Dead cells have higher viability dye uptake
threshold <- quantile(viability, 0.9)
}
live_mask <- viability < threshold
cat('Total events:', length(live_mask), '\n')
cat('Live cells:', sum(live_mask), '(', round(mean(live_mask) * 100, 1), '%)\n')
cat('Dead cells:', sum(!live_mask), '(', round(mean(!live_mask) * 100, 1), '%)\n')
ff[live_mask, ]
}
# Example with zombie dye
ff_live <- exclude_dead_cells(ff, 'Zombie-Aqua')
# CyTOF-specific quality metrics
cytof_qc <- function(ff) {
expr <- exprs(ff)
# Event length check (cell size proxy)
if ('Event_length' %in% colnames(expr)) {
event_length <- expr[, 'Event_length']
# Typical single cells: 15-45
good_length <- event_length >= 15 & event_length <= 45
cat('Event length filter:', sum(good_length), '/', length(good_length),
'(', round(mean(good_length) * 100, 1), '%)\n')
}
# DNA intercalator check (nucleated cells)
dna_channels <- grep('(Ir191|Ir193|DNA)', colnames(expr), value = TRUE)
if (length(dna_channels) > 0) {
dna_signal <- rowMeans(expr[, dna_channels, drop = FALSE])
# Cells should have DNA signal
has_dna <- dna_signal > quantile(dna_signal, 0.1)
cat('DNA+ events:', sum(has_dna), '(', round(mean(has_dna) * 100, 1), '%)\n')
}
# Gaussian parameters (if present)
gauss_channels <- grep('(Center|Offset|Width|Residual)', colnames(expr), value = TRUE)
if (length(gauss_channels) > 0) {
cat('Gaussian parameters available for additional QC\n')
}
}
cytof_qc(ff)
Goal: Generate a per-sample QC summary table for an entire experiment batch, flagging outlier samples that may need exclusion.
Approach: Loop through FCS files, compute event counts, flow rate CV, and median signal intensity for each, then flag samples with abnormal event counts or unstable flow rates.
library(dplyr)
# Generate QC summary for batch of files
batch_qc_summary <- function(fcs_files) {
results <- lapply(fcs_files, function(f) {
ff <- read.FCS(f)
# Basic metrics
n_events <- nrow(ff)
# Flow rate CV
flow_qc <- check_flow_rate(ff)
# Signal range check
expr <- exprs(ff)
signal_channels <- grep('(FSC|SSC)', colnames(expr), value = TRUE, invert = TRUE)
median_signals <- apply(expr[, signal_channels, drop = FALSE], 2, median)
data.frame(
file = basename(f),
events = n_events,
flow_rate_cv = flow_qc$cv_percent,
flow_stable = flow_qc$stable,
median_signal = mean(median_signals, na.rm = TRUE)
)
})
summary_df <- do.call(rbind, results)
# Flag outliers
summary_df$outlier <- with(summary_df,
events < median(events) * 0.5 |
events > median(events) * 2 |
flow_rate_cv > 30
)
summary_df
}
# Run batch QC
fcs_files <- list.files('data/', pattern = '\\.fcs$', full.names = TRUE)
qc_summary <- batch_qc_summary(fcs_files)
print(qc_summary)
# Flag problematic samples
cat('\nSamples with QC issues:\n')
print(qc_summary[qc_summary$outlier, ])
library(ggplot2)
# Flow rate plot
plot_flow_rate <- function(ff, time_channel = 'Time') {
expr <- exprs(ff)
time <- expr[, time_channel]
n_bins <- 100
bins <- cut(time, breaks = n_bins, labels = FALSE)
events_per_bin <- table(bins)
plot_data <- data.frame(
bin = as.numeric(names(events_per_bin)),
events = as.numeric(events_per_bin)
)
ggplot(plot_data, aes(x = bin, y = events)) +
geom_line() +
geom_smooth(method = 'loess', color = 'red', se = FALSE) +
theme_bw() +
labs(title = 'Flow Rate Over Acquisition', x = 'Time Bin', y = 'Events per Bin')
}
# Signal stability plot
plot_signal_stability <- function(ff, channel, time_channel = 'Time') {
expr <- exprs(ff)
n_bins <- 50
bins <- cut(expr[, time_channel], breaks = n_bins, labels = FALSE)
bin_stats <- tapply(expr[, channel], bins, function(x) {
c(median = median(x), q25 = quantile(x, 0.25), q75 = quantile(x, 0.75))
})
plot_data <- data.frame(
bin = seq_along(bin_stats),
median = sapply(bin_stats, '[', 'median'),
q25 = sapply(bin_stats, '[', 'q25'),
q75 = sapply(bin_stats, '[', 'q75')
)
ggplot(plot_data, aes(x = bin)) +
geom_ribbon(aes(ymin = q25, ymax = q75), alpha = 0.3) +
geom_line(aes(y = median), color = 'blue') +
theme_bw() +
labs(title = paste('Signal Stability:', channel), x = 'Time Bin', y = 'Intensity')
}
# Generate QC plots
p1 <- plot_flow_rate(ff)
ggsave('qc_flow_rate.png', p1, width = 10, height = 4)
p2 <- plot_signal_stability(ff, 'CD45')
ggsave('qc_signal_stability.png', p2, width = 10, height = 4)
# Generate comprehensive QC report
generate_qc_report <- function(ff, output_file = 'qc_report.txt') {
sink(output_file)
cat('=== FLOW CYTOMETRY QC REPORT ===\n\n')
cat('File:', description(ff)$`$FIL`, '\n')
cat('Date:', description(ff)$`$DATE`, '\n')
cat('Total events:', nrow(ff), '\n\n')
cat('--- Flow Rate ---\n')
flow_qc <- check_flow_rate(ff)
cat('CV:', round(flow_qc$cv_percent, 1), '%\n')
cat('Status:', ifelse(flow_qc$stable, 'PASS', 'FAIL'), '\n\n')
cat('--- Signal Channels ---\n')
expr <- exprs(ff)
for (ch in colnames(expr)[1:min(10, ncol(expr))]) {
cat(ch, ': median =', round(median(expr[, ch]), 1), '\n')
}
sink()
cat('Report saved to', output_file, '\n')
}
generate_qc_report(ff)
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