Blood Cell Quantification on Dry Blood Samples: Toward Patient-Centric Complete Blood Counts

Abstarct

Background: Performing complete blood counts from patients' homes could have a transformative impact on e-based healthcare. Blood microsampling and sample drying are enabling elements for patient-centric healthcare. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of dry blood samples for image-based cell quantification of red and white blood cells. Methods: A manual sample preparation method was developed and tested for image-based red and white blood cell counting. Results & conclusion: Dry blood samples enable image-based cell counting of red and white blood cells with a good correlation to gold standard hematology analyzer data (average coefficient of variation <6.5%; R² >0.8) and resolve the basic morphology of white blood cell nuclei. The presented proof-of-principle study is a first step toward patient-centric complete blood counts.

Keywords:

• blood
• cells
• complete blood count
• counting
• differentiation
• dry
• patient-centric
• quantification
• RBC
• WBC

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/suppl/10.4155/bio-2022-0029

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Biomedicum Imaging Core at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was funded by the Foundation Olle Engkvist Byggmästare. M Dobielewski, J Hauser, O Beck, G Stemme and N Roxhed are co-inventors on patent applications describing devices for generating dried blood samples. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

Ethical permission for the study was obtained from the regional ethical board (EPN Stockholm, Dnr. 2015/867-31/1). The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/suppl/10.2144/000112170