Digital cell morphology assessment

A complete blood count (CBC) is often the first laboratory diagnostic test requested by a physician to assess a patient’s health condition. A simple CBC will measure the oxygen-carrying red blood cells, the oxygen-containing hemoglobin, the platelets that help blood clot, and the white blood cells (WBCs) of the immune system. With today’s technology advancements, such a test is typically conducted in a physician’s office laboratory (POL), using a small, space-saving hematology analyzer.

Depending on local policies, samples that are flagged as abnormal commonly require microscopic examination to confirm the results obtained with the analyzer. For this, the blood sample is traditionally sent to a hematology laboratory for a manual cell count. However, to minimizes pre-analytical errors, hemolysis, and blood clotting, the sample should ideally be analyzed within a couple of hours.

With CellaVision® DC-1 digital cell morphology assessment, considerable workflow efficiencies can be achieved. The automated digital imaging system generates high-quality images that can be shared for

consultation by off-site expertise. Automatic pre-classification of the WBCs can help shorten testing time, while improving resource utilization. Automating the microscopic examination of blood smears enables standardizing the procedure to deliver more reliable and consistent results, while achieving greater level of traceability and quality control. Connectivity facilitates sharing of images between laboratories and competencies. Access to reference cell images provides a tool for staff training and competency development.

Combining CellaVision DC-1 with a 3-part hematology analyzer can provide reductions in laboratory costs and turnaround time compared with traditional procedures, including 5-part hematology testing and off-site microscopic examination of suspicious samples. General patient screening is conducted with a cost-efficient hematology analyzer, while samples flagged as suspicious are examined in the DC-1 process. The analyzer performs the actual cell count and results are quickly confirmed under microscope. At the same time, immature cells not detected by the analyzer can be identified in the DC-1 process. To avoid the risk of degeneration of cellular elements that is associated with sending samples to hematology laboratory for microscopic examination, high-quality images of the cells can be captured locally for sharing with remotely located expertise.