Study of the peripheral blood leucocyte population by Fourier analysis of the cell volume histogram

The Fourier transformation is proposed as a technique for the description of cell volume histogram data. In order to test the applicability of this transformation, peripheral blood leucocytes were studied as model populations and the technique assessed by determining the extent to which the Fourier coefficients could be applied as descriptors of various pathologic abnormalities of the differential leucocyte count. Histograms of leucocyte volume distribution were plotted for 87 cases with a variety of abnormalities of the peripheral blood leucocyte population. These histograms were submitted to Fourier analysis and the coefficients thus obtained were used as the basis of a multivariate classification system designed to distinguish certain predefined abnormalities of the differential count. The results obtained suggest that Fourier analysis may prove a valuable technique for the interpretation of cell volume histogram data, and its potential applications are discussed.