Oligoclonal band testing

[SRWM]

I have a question regarding analysis of spinal tap results. I had one done two years ago, but the serum used for the comparison was simply a copy of bloodwork drawn two months prior to the tap. While I understand that numerical results can be compared, I've wondered about the comparison necessary to look for those infamous bands that often indicate MS. Is there a formula or way to look at various results of a serum electrophoresis to determine if oligoclonal bands were present there, and then compare those bands to the ones found in the CSF? I guess I'm not sure how they detect those bands... I visualize it as a complex version of a strep test... when you add certain elements to the serum or CSF, these little lines would appear on the test strip if there are bands, if no lines appeared there would be no bands present. I'm curious because while my CSF lab report shows "two or more bands", there was no mention of testing for bands on the serum report, but my neurologist at the time said they could figure it out using a formula and the result was normal. Guess I'm looking for a quick course in lab analysis to understand how these tests work, especially since the proteins and other stuff can be normal even when there are bands present that indicate MS. Also, are multiple bands in the CSF ever "normal" or are they always an indication of something going on the nervous system. Help would be appreciated!!! Thanks sooo much for this service!!!!!