Beckman Coulter’s new DxH 500 haematology system installed at University of Chester’s Institute of Medicine

Beckman Coulter has installed the first DxH 500 haematology analyser in the UK at the University of Chester’s Institute of Medicine on the Countess of Chester Health Park. Ideal for use in hospitals, clinics, research and point–of-care, the newly launched DxH 500 fully automated haematology system will be used in post graduate clinical research projects, with many being undertaken in collaboration with the Countess of Chester Hospital. Due to the proximity of the facility to the hospital, a wide range of normal and pathologically-abnormal blood samples will be available for analysis which will enhance the scope and quality of research projects.

The new compact DxH 500 haematology analyser being used by Jasmine Stanley-Ahmed at the University of Chester’s Institute of Medicine

Specifically designed for low-volume workloads of up to 60 samples/hour, the new DxH 500 is intuitive to use and highly compact, yet offers a full blood count with a full five-part white blood cell differential. Requiring just 12 µL (a finger-prick or venous sample) of whole blood, the DxH 500 provides accurate results, even for paediatric and geriatric patients who are less able to provide larger sample volumes. Re-tests can also be made without needing to collect another sample, again making it ideal for routine or research purposes.

“We needed an analyser that was reliable and simple to use by research students, while still able to provide comprehensive results for in-depth clinical research projects using both whole blood and cell separations,” explained Jasmine Stanley-Ahmed, Lab Technician, at the University of Chester’s Institute of Medicine. “As our experience with Beckman Coulter analysers has been so good, when we heard of the launch of the DxH 500, we were confident enough to buy it unseen. We are especially pleased that, as well as being compact, it offers full five-part diff, which enables even more scope for our research!”

Jasmine added:

Ease of use was a key deciding factor in our selection, and the DxH 500 requires only minimal training, so it’s simple to cascade the training to new users. The DxH 500’s comprehensive reporting is also very valuable to us; we can readily spot any abnormalities thanks to clear messages and flagging. We also have a high volume Beckman Coulter DxH 800 Haematology Workcell in the main hospital lab, so all our haematology results are fully comparable.

In addition to its accuracy and reliability, another benefit of the DxH 500 is the laboratory and cost efficiencies that it delivers. The system is only 27cm wide with an inbuilt touchscreen monitor, so can be sited wherever needed as it takes up so little space. The DxH 500 requires just two analytical reagents and a cleaner, using up to 50% less reagent than other low-volume analysers - hundreds of tests can be performed using a single reagent bottle. Reagents are also non-toxic, saving on disposal costs and helping to meet regulatory compliance standards.