The hematology analyzers of today are capable of doing various things. They can offer an all-include blood count, or even tot up white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Hematology analyzers can also tell you hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, RBC indices, and leukocyte differential. Even the older variants can conduct a limited CBC and a three-part leukocyte differential to give you values for lymphocytes, neutrophils, and every other white cell together. The snazzier products offered by MEDICAL Diagnostic Equipments Manufacturers can count basophils, monocytes, and eosinophils too. Some are also capable of detecting nucleated blood cells.
1. The problem: In specific situations, a hematology analyzer can provide a falsely low platelet count. The diagnostic departments of hospitals and individual diagnostic centers often experience this problem with their hematology analyzer, which is why they hesitate to buy a new machine when they need it.
2. The importance of accuracy: There are times when you can’t trifle with the accuracy of a patient’s platelet count. For one thing, it allows you to assess the risk of bleeding. Low platelet count usually leads to leukemia, aplastic anemia, and thrombocytopenic purpura. Conversely, the presence of too many platelets may mean polycythemia vera, thrombocythemia, or chronic myelogenous leukemia. Understandably, ascertaining the appropriate number during diagnoses and differential in thrombotic diseases and clinical homeostasis is mandatory.
3. New-age systems: Medical specialists have been using automated blood cell analyzers, microscopic tallying, and the international reference method or IRM to count platelets based on flow cytometry. It’s precisely what the International Council for Standardization in Hematology proposed. There’s also an “impedance” method, invented by Beckman Coulter, widely used by medical experts. All these methods have their limitations. For instance, they can’t help you distinguish platelets if other particles of the same size and volume exist in the sample. Fortunately, the manufacturers and MEDICAL Diagnostic Equipments Suppliers found a way to bypass these problems.
Endnote Today’s hematology analyzers won’t give you any problem. Apart from being more effective in differentiating platelets from other particles of the same dimensions, these machines can yield immaculate results. For instance, a modern optical platelet counter can separate blood components by strength, type, and light signals.
