New Platelet Counting Technology to Help Labs Prevent Diagnosis Errors

Accurate platelet count testing is a significant challenge for laboratories. Inaccurate results can lead to misdiagnosis, missed diagnoses, and delayed treatment for a variety of potentially fatal conditions, including acute massive hemorrhage, coagulation disorders, infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. Pseudothrombocytopenia, a false low platelet count, can occur during platelet aggregation or due to improper handling of samples. It may also occur when large or giant platelets are present, which conventional methods fail to identify. As a result, test results may show low platelet levels, even though the actual count is normal. Such misdiagnoses can result in unnecessary anxiety, additional tests, and potentially inappropriate medications or transfusions. Surgical delays can also occur if procedures are postponed due to inaccurate results. On the other hand, pseudothrombocytosis, or a false high platelet count, typically occurs when red blood cell fragments or microcytes are misidentified as platelets. This can cause low platelet counts to be reported as normal or elevated, and normal counts to be misinterpreted as high. If low platelet counts are reported as normal or high, the risk of bleeding may go undetected, delaying treatment and potentially threatening the patient’s life. Additionally, normal platelet values reported as high could lead to incorrect diagnoses and inappropriate treatments.

Mindray (Shenzhen, China) has introduced a high-precision platelet counting technology designed to reduce risks that could lead to errors in cancer diagnoses. Available across Europe for the first time, this technology is supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and has been tested on hundreds of thousands of samples. The technology is intended to help laboratories perform more accurate and efficient platelet counting, a critical process in the detection of many serious diseases. It is designed to help laboratories address these challenges, improve accuracy, and meet the increasing demands placed on laboratories. The CAL 8000 Cellular Analysis Line combines platelet technologies to support high-quality reporting. This system automates platelet analysis, allowing laboratory professionals to report on aggregated samples in as little as 30 minutes, compared to the typical two-hour wait.

The cellular analysis line features PLT-H, a new platelet detection technology that uses high-precision optics and innovative algorithms to reduce interference and enhance accuracy without increasing costs. Self-de-aggregation technology, which involves heating, stirring, and disaggregation, can break down most platelet clumping caused by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Samples flagged as abnormal by Mindray’s cost-effective technology can be further analyzed with PLT-O. This fluorescent staining method provides accurate results for low platelet counts. When optical methods detect low platelet samples, the PLT-O instrument automatically boosts particle counting by eight times without needing to resample. This significantly improves the detection of low platelet counts.

Mindray’s PLT-M technology, integrated into its digital morphology analyzer, automatically estimates platelet counts through advanced morphological imaging. The technology also includes high-definition, high-speed scanning to identify platelet aggregation in samples by detecting platelets at the body, edge, and tail of blood smears. Known as PLT-Pro, this technology scans slides in under a minute—30 times more efficiently than traditional methods. Research into the effectiveness of this technology has been highly favorable, with findings on platelet counting presented by specialists from France and Poland at the 2024 International Society for Laboratory Hematology’s International Symposium on Technical Innovations in Laboratory Hematology.

“Abnormal platelet counts are sometimes a precursor to life threatening illnesses, including cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma,” said Huan Qi, Director of Clinical Research, Medical Affairs, Mindray. “Inaccurate platelet counting can lead to significant and potentially deadly consequences. Through innovative technology, we are now equipping laboratories with modern tools to enable efficient, high-quality, and cost-effective blood cell analysis. Through a combination of innovative tools, automation, and sophisticated algorithms, laboratories have the potential to enable 99.9% of samples to be reported with accurate platelet count results, without the need for manual intervention.”

“The latest developments in platelet counting technology could help a lot of people in treating hematology disorders,” added Professor Marie Christine Béné from the Faculty of Medicine at Nantes University. “We are getting more and more help from machines able to count cells with minimal supervision, alerting us and providing us with more time to spend looking after patients. Accurate evidence behind low platelet count could allow patients to have neurosurgery, or inform clinicians if patients don’t need a blood transfusion. Mindray has evidently listened to customers in the development of its latest technologies. Its disaggregation protocol and optical staining of platelets will help with productivity – reducing the time medical scientists need to spend examining low platelet counts to identify platelet clumping. Removing that process will be good for everyone – scientists, clinicians and patients.”

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