Usefulness of particle image analyzer for evaluation of fragmented red cells

Quantitative determination of fragmented red cells (FRCs) in peripheral blood is useful in various clinical fields. We have previously reported an automatic detection method using a hematology analyzer essentially based on detection of small red cells. We then tried to use another instrument, the FPIA 2100, to reflect the characteristic morphology of red cells. As the circularity obtained by FPIA 2100 correlated with the FRC%, this type of instrument might be helpful to establish better automatic detection methods.