Differentiation of granulocytes in Pappenheim stained blood cell smears using standardized cytophotometric analysis.

The well-known problems of the low reproducibility of peripheral blood smear analysis have for some time stimulated endeavours to automate blood cell classification. In the cytophotometric standardized color measurement and analysis, the computed color characteristics for the first time refer to an internationally accepted color system, allowing not only an international comparison of the computer color measurements but an unproblematic mutual interchange of color information between man and machine based on both the human visual color impressions and the conventional morphological color attributes of the white blood cells. The discriminatory power of the method is demonstrated by differentiating the cytoplasm granulations in basophil, eosinophil and neutrophil granulocytes.