Automated Blood Cell Counting Systems: A Comparison of the Coulter S‐Plus IV, Ortho ELT‐8/DS, Ortho ELT‐8/WS, Technicon H‐1, and Sysmex E‐5,000

Four automated blood cell counting systems were evaluated at the Michigan State University Veterinary Clinical Center (VCC) for their suitability for analyzing various animals' blood in a university teaching hospital laboratory. The instruments were compared to a Coulter Model S-Senior (Coulter Electronics)which had been used for 8 years, and was to be replaced. The instruments were a Coulter Model S-Plus IV, an Ortho ELT-8/ds (Ortho Diagnostics Systems), a Technicon H-1 (Technicon Instruments), and a Sysmex E-5,000 (Toa Medical Electronics). Additionally, an Ortho ELT-8/ws at a private laboratory (Cenvet) was compared to the Coulter S-Senior at the VCC. Based on these evaluations, only the Sysmex E-5,000 was considered unacceptable for the VCC laboratory. Certain advantages and disadvantages of the instruments are described in this article. The comparisons among instruments were not as consistent or repetitive as expected for a controlled experiment but did provide information likely useful to others considering using or purchasing an automated blood cell counting system for a veterinary laboratory.