Automation in Hematology
Joachim Lehner, Burkhard Greve, Uwe Cassens · Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy · 2007
With increasing self-driven momentum, hematological diagnosis has developed from rather philosophical approaches in ancient Greece to the application of logical principles to investigating human blood within the last two centuries. The 20th century was a time of industrial standardization and thus a period in which established procedures operated by humans were perfected in hematology. In the 21st century, modern computers and network techniques are being integrated into a complex instrument, linked to each other mechanically and logically by control systems based on algorithms. Automation in hematology now permits comprehensive and highly precise diagnosis, with hardly any human help. This will be illustrated by four modern analysis systems. These diagnostic tools are not only of high importance for the treatment of patients but also for the screening of blood donors and blood products.