An automated reticulocyte counting method: preliminary observations

We evaluated the counting of reticulocytes in the peripheral blood with a newly developed flow cytometer type of automated counter that performs a single test within 60 s. The volume of sample needed is 100 microliters and the cells are stained with auramine-O in the counter. The mean within-run reproducibility was 4.66% (CV, n = 50), and dilution of blood gave highly linear results with an r value of 0.996. Correlation was good between manual reticulocyte counts and those performed with the counter (r = 0.893). Samples with large numbers of leucocytes, erythrocytes, or platelets did not interfere with the automated reticulocyte counting, and provided accurate and precise data.