Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 18, 2026
06:13
Image-based Flow Cytometry Technique to Evaluate Changes in Granulocyte Function In Vitro
Published on: December 26, 2014
13.2K
White Blood Cell Enumeration and Differential by Flow Cytometry: The ICSH WBC Reference Method
Benjamin D Hedley1, Michael Keeney1, Peter Gambell2
1London Health Science Center, London, Ontario, Canada.
International Journal of Laboratory Hematology
|September 12, 2025
Summary
A new flow cytometry method offers an improved reference for white blood cell (WBC) differential counts, outperforming manual methods for rare cell populations and correlating well with automated analyzers.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Clinical Pathology
- Flow Cytometry
Background:
- Manual white blood cell (WBC) differential counts are the current standard but face challenges.
- These include interpreter expertise, staining quality, and imprecision with low cell counts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe and validate an alternative, single-tube, 8-color flow cytometric reference method for WBC differential analysis.
- To compare its performance against the manual reference method and current hematology analyzers.
Main Methods:
- An international comparison involving 120 normal and 496 abnormal clinical samples was conducted.
- Four institutions utilized four different flow cytometer models to assess the proposed method.
Main Results:
- The flow cytometric method demonstrated equivalent performance to the manual smear review for WBC differential counts.
- It showed improved performance for identifying low/infrequent cell populations like monocytes and basophils.
- Good correlation was observed with automated hematology analyzers for total WBC enumeration.
Conclusions:
- The flow cytometric method, termed "ICSH WBC reference," can serve as a reliable alternative to CLSI H20-A2 for WBC enumeration and differential counting.
- This method is particularly valuable for evaluating automated differential counters and improving accuracy for rare cell types.
