Study demonstrates ability of HemoScreen for rapid evaluation of acute leukemia patients

PixCell Medical, innovator of rapid diagnostic solutions at the point-of-care, has announced the results of a new study published in the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology, demonstrating that the company’s HemoScreen point-of-care hematology analyser is suitable for the evaluation and management of patients receiving chemotherapy treatment for hematological cancers.

Researchers from North Zealand Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, and the University of Southern Denmark compared HemoScreen with the Sysmex XN-9000 in 206 routine venous samples and 79 capillary bedside samples focusing on white blood cells (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), red blood cells (RBC), platelet count (PLT) and hemoglobin (HGB).

PixCell CEO Dr Avishay Bransky said: “Cancer patients receiving intensive chemotherapy often suffer from severe bone marrow suppression as a result of the treatment, requiring regular complete blood count (CBC) monitoring. This study shows that the HemoScreen can provide quick and trustworthy results both for general and pathological samples. Having this device widely available can potentially eliminate extraneous hospital visits and significantly shorten necessary ones – a game changer for patients already burdened with illness and fatigue.”

The data show that the HemoScreen provides rapid and clinically reliable test results for WBC, ANC, RBC, PLT and HGB using 40μl venous or capillary blood, as well as at low concentrations for guiding transfusions and post-chemotherapy treatment. The research team also found that the HemoScreen was sufficiently sensitive to flag pathological samples and abnormal cells, including nucleated RBCs, immature granulocytes and blast cells, and greatly reduced turnaround time of test results.

HemoScreen is the only FDA-cleared hematology analyser intended for use at the point-of-care that combines flow cytometry with digital imaging in a single platform. The portable, compact hematology analyzer performs the complete blood count (CBC) test within six minutes and uses disposable, single-use cartridges pre-saturated with all the necessary reagents for fast, lab-accurate and simple testing.

The study concluded that the HemoScreen is well-suited for smaller outpatient clinics and potentially for home use.