| CPC G01N 1/4077 (2013.01) | 37 Claims |

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1. A method for testing a fluid sample taken from a body of a patient for the presence of a particulate, the method comprising:
introducing the fluid sample into a fluid container of a filtration assembly;
passing the fluid sample through a porous filter of the filtration assembly and into a filtrate receptacle by distally advancing a plunger of the filtration assembly within the fluid container toward a distal end of the fluid container, thereby capturing, on or within the porous filter, by size-based filtration, at least a portion of any particulate present in the fluid sample;
thereafter, creating a cavity within the fluid container between a distal end of the plunger and the distal end of the fluid container;
thereafter, preparing an extraction liquid by introducing one or more extraction reagents into the cavity and bathing the porous filter in the one or more extraction reagents, the one or more extraction reagents configured to extract and expose a biological target from any particulate captured on or within the porous filter; and
thereafter, testing the extraction liquid for the presence of the particulate by testing for the presence of a biological target.
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