Open AccessPoint-of-care microvolume cytometer measures platelet counts with high accuracy from capillary blood
Author(s) -
William M Dickerson,
Rebecca Yu,
Helena U. Westergren,
Jonathan Paraskos,
Philipp Schatz,
Anna Tigerström,
Anna Ekman,
J. A. Arboleda Sánchez,
Jamie Cheng,
Lillian Li,
Eugene Y. Chan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0256423
Subject(s) - platelet , point of care , venous blood , point of care testing , hematology analyzer , medicine , concordance , spectrum analyzer , chromatography , venipuncture , antibody , chemistry , biomedical engineering , pathology , immunology , surgery , electrical engineering , engineering
Background Point-of-care (PoC) testing of platelet count (PLT) provides real-time data for rapid decision making. The goal of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and precision of platelet counting using a new microvolume (8 μL), absolute counting, 1.5 kg cytometry-based blood analyzer, the rHEALTH ONE (rHEALTH) in comparison with the International Society of Laboratory Hematology (ISLH) platelet method, which uses a cytometer and an impedance analyzer. Methods Inclusion eligibility were healthy adults (M/F) ages 18–80 for donation of fingerprick and venous blood samples. Samples were from a random N = 31 volunteers from a single U.S. site. Samples were serially diluted to test thrombocytopenic ranges. Interfering substances and conditions were tested, including RBC fragments, platelet fragments, cholesterol, triglycerides, lipids, anti-platelet antibodies, and temperature. Results The concordance between the rHEALTH and ISLH methods had a slope = 1.030 and R 2 = 0.9684. The rHEALTH method showed a correlation between capillary and venous blood samples (slope = 0.9514 and R 2 = 0.9684). Certain interferents changed platelet recovery: RBC fragments and anti-platelet antibodies with the ISLH method; platelet fragments and anti-platelet antibodies on the rHEALTH; and RBC fragments, platelets fragments, triglycerides and LDL on the clinical impedance analyzer. The rHEALTH’s precision ranged from 3.1–8.0%, and the ISLH from 1.0–10.5%. Conclusions The rHEALTH method provides similar results with the reference method and good correlation between adult capillary and venous blood samples. This demonstrates the ability of the rHEALTH to provide point-of-care assessment of normal and thrombocytopenic platelet counts from fingerprick blood with high precision and limited interferences.