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The MAXM hematology autoanalyzer. An alternative?
H H Billett1, E Simson, P Main
1Department of Pathology, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY 11042.
American Journal of Clinical Pathology
|July 1, 1994
Summary
The Coulter MAXM blood analyzer shows comparable linearity and precision to the STKS. While good for neutrophils and lymphocytes, it struggles with monocyte and basophil counts, limiting its use in large labs.
Area of Science:
- Clinical diagnostics
- Hematology automation
Background:
- The Coulter MAXM is a compact blood count and differential analyzer.
- It is designed for space-limited laboratories and large outpatient practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the performance of the Coulter MAXM analyzer with the larger Coulter STKS analyzer.
- To evaluate the MAXM's accuracy in leukocyte differential counts.
Main Methods:
- Comparative performance study of MAXM and STKS analyzers.
- Linearity, precision, and differential count correlation analyses were performed.
- Manual readings were used as a reference for differential counts.
Main Results:
- Linearity and precision of MAXM were comparable to STKS.
- Leukocyte differentials showed close correlation with STKS and manual counts for neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils.
- Monocyte counts showed poorer correlation, and basophil counts did not correlate.
- Analyzer suspect flagging was similar, with MAXM having reduced sensitivity but greater specificity.
- MAXM processing time per sample was twice as long as STKS.
Conclusions:
- The MAXM analyzer performs well for large office practices and as a backup in medical laboratories.
- Its hands-on requirements and slower speed prevent it from replacing larger, more automated analyzers.
- The MAXM is a viable option for specific clinical settings despite limitations in certain cell count differentials.
