For the automatic analysis of eight blood parameters, including white and red blood cell counts, Horiba, Ltd. has developed a new veterinary hematology analyzer, the LC-152, which will go on sale from 24 May.
Without preprocessing, this device provides results from tiny samples of just 12 mL. This single unit offers analysis with parameters that can be automatically optimized for different types of animal. Sales are mainly targeted at veterinary clinics and university research laboratories.
Animals do not have the same size or number of blood cells as humans: animals also differ according to species. During health checks, if animals are suspected to be suffering from certain serious conditions, the same kind of basic hematological tests that humans receive are essential to diagnosis and treatment. When the tests are carried out, based on data for numbers and size of white cells, red cells, and blood platelets for the particular type of animal, it is still common for tests to be done on equipment originally intended for the analysis of samples from humans. Not only is it hard to collect the requisite size of blood sample from small animals, because the size and number of blood cells differ from species to species, it has proved troublesome to make the setting changes that are needed every time a different animal has to be tested. As veterinary clinics move to upgrade their facilities, demand has arisen for equipment that has been designed especially for animals.
Our latest equipment can analyze samples of just 12 mL, one-tenth the amount that is normally required in human blood analyzers. Moreover, the tests can be run directly, without any preprocessing, so no special skills are required. Simplifying the process even further, it is easy to reset the test parameters with IC cards that contain the data for cell sizes and numbers for different species of animal. In this device that has been specially designed for practical veterinary use, the insertion of a card automatically optimizes the parameters for the animal from which the sample was taken.
Recommended selling price: JPY 4,200,000
Main specifications
Analytical evaluation of 8 parameters: WBC, RBC, Hgb, Hct, PLT, MCV, MCH, MCHC (white cell count, red cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelet count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration)
Size of sample: 12 mL
Processing capacity: 37 samples per hour
Dimensions: 360 m