Urine sediment analysis by the Yellow IRIS automated urinalysis workstation

The Yellow IRIS automated urinalysis workstation (International Remote Imaging Systems, Chatsworth, CA 91311) performs urine sediment analysis with the use of Automated Intelligent Microscopy (AIM). It ranks and counts particles based on size. A split sample study using 268 individual urine specimens was performed comparing sediment analyte detection by the Yellow IRIS with that achieved by a standard manual method. The detection ratio ("positive" specimens detected by the Yellow IRIS divided by "positive" specimens detected by the manual method) for the presence of various analytes, as well as the presence of abnormal numbers of analytes, was determined. The significance of each detection ratio was tested by calculating the McNemar's statistic, which is useful in the evaluation of nonparametric data collected by two different methods on identical specimens. Results were considered abnormal if the red blood count was greater than or equal to three per high-power field, the white blood cell count was greater than or equal to five per high-power field, or squamous epithelial cells were greater than or equal to five per high-power field. The results indicate that the Yellow IRIS enhances the detection of urinary sediment components.