ABSTRACT
Modern automated hematology instruments use either optical methods (light scatter), impedance-based methods based on the Coulter principle (changes in electrical current induced by blood cells flowing through an electrically charged opening), or a combination of both optical and impedance-based methods. Progressive improvement in these instruments has allowed the enumeration and evaluation of blood cells with great accuracy, precision, and speed at very low cost. Future directions of hematology instrumentation include the addition of new parameters and the development of point-of-care instrumentation. In the future, in-vivo analysis of blood cells may allow noninvasive and near-continuous measurements.
Subject(s)
Blood Cell Count/methods , Blood Cell Count/history , Blood Cell Count/trends , Contrast Media , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , History, 21st CenturyABSTRACT
Rapid and accurate counts of red blood cells (RBCs), nucleated RBCs, platelets, and white blood cells (WBCs) (total and differential WBCs) are important requirements for a hematology laboratory. The detection of abnormal blood cell populations and the recognition of pathologic distributions of leukocytes are also of clinical importance. Manual microscopy counts are still required when a sample is flagged by the hematology analyzer and are still the reference method for WBC differential counts. Automated microscopy analyzers can provide accurate WBC differential counts, which may replace manual microscopy, but should not replace the eye of the cytologist.
Subject(s)
Blood Cell Count/methods , Automation , Blood Cell Count/history , Blood Cell Count/instrumentation , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/instrumentation , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methodsABSTRACT
2013 is the centenary of Wallace Coulter's birth. He was an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and visionary. He transformed the practice of laboratory hematology with his invention of the Coulter Principle and its application to blood cell analysis, together with the company he founded to bring it and his subsequent inventions and innovations to the world. He was born in modest circumstances and he remained modest in his outlook on life, despite his magnificent achievements, his successes, his numerous prestigious awards and his wealth later in life. This article traces his early life, his career, his achievements and the immense benefits he brought to the people of this planet.
