Horiba UK Medical, Northhampton, UK, says that two studies demonstrate the effective performance of its new Helo automated hematology platform on body fluid and pathological samples.1,2
Horiba’s high-throughput Yumizen H2500 and H1500 automated hematology analyzers were able to use the platform for enhanced precision of complete blood counts and white blood cell (WBC) differential testing, the company says. Body fluid analysis was included as standard in the process. The performance efficiencies can improve diagnosis, minimize unnecessary slide reviews with manual microscopes, and improve laboratory workflow, according to the two scientific evaluations.
Conducted by Nantes University Hospital, the first study focused on the need to automate analysis of biological fluids for robust and reliable reporting of results. Hematological analysis of body fluids can provide clinicians with valuable diagnostic information about a number of serious medical conditions. Manual microscopy has traditionally been used to determine total and differentiated WBC in body fluids. However, results can be affected by interoperator variability, and the results take time to analyze. Using an automated method of analysis of WBC in a body fluid smear can improve turnaround times and accuracy.
To ensure the robustness and reliability of automated body fluid analysis in routine laboratory workflows, the Nantes study used the Yumizen H2500 to evaluate the performance of the automated analysis cycle. The study included 98 samples from ascitic, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cerebrospinal, pericardial, and pleural fluids, which were used for comparative and differential leukocyte and erythrocyte counts. They confirmed the good analytical performance of the Yumizen analyzer in comparison with a conventional microscopic count and a reference analyzer.
The second study, conducted by the Institut Bergonié Comprehensive Cancer Center, explored the flagging efficiency of the new Helo analyzer. Pathological samples from patients with altered hematopoiesis often trigger a WBC-differential flag because of poor cell separation. Such a flag is meant to trigger the requirement for a manual slide review by microscopy to confirm the WBC differential. Laboratory workload would be optimized if instances of manual slide review could be reduced without compromising patient care.
The second study compared the flagging performance in the WBC differential of the Yumizen H1500/H2500 with a routine analyzer. The study included patients with pathology or treatment- affecting hematopoiesis, such as those undergoing chemotherapy or with oncohematologic disorders.
The study involved 228 pathological samples—100 from patients on chemotherapy for solid tumors and 128 from patients with malignant blood disease. It demonstrated an improvement in the WBC differential analysis and reliability of the Yumizen H1500/2500 analyzer over a routine analyzer. Precision and specificity improved because of better cell separation, leading to a significant 21% decrease in unnecessary morphology reviews by microscopy, according to Horiba.
References
- Inquel A, Broly M, Chevalier M, et al. Evaluation of the body fluid cycle of the Yumizen H2500 analyzer (Horiba Medical SAS) [poster, online]. Presentation at the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, Vancouver, Canada, May 9–11, 2019. Available at: www.horiba.com/fileadmin/uploads/medical-diagnostics/documents/feedback/evaluation_-_yumizen_h2500_-_chu_nantes_-_france.pdf. Accessed October 14, 2019.
- Correia P, Blanchi J, Seguy F, Durrieu F. Interest of Horiba Medical Yumizen H1500/H2500 technology in patients with WBC-diff abnormalities due to malignant blood disease or chemotherapy treatment [poster, online]. Internal poster from oral presentation at EuroMedLab2019, Barcelona, Spain, May 9–23, 2019. Available at: www.horiba.com/fileadmin/uploads/medical-diagnostics/documents/feedback/evaluation_-_yumizen_h1500-h2500_-_institut_bergonie_-_bordeaux_-_france.pdf. Accessed October 14, 2019.
Featured image:
The Yumizen H2500 hematology analyzer from Horiba Medical.
