The basics of blood cell counter.

The time has come when a traditional hematologist of a developing country needs to change his frame of mind from time consuming, error prone, not so precise manual methodologies to economical, safe and precise automated procedures. More important is his role as a guide and teacher for his juniors who are exposed to automated laboratories from the beginning of their residency. At this juncture, one needs to be thorough with the principles of instrumentation, different models available, their merits and demerits and how and where these fit with the requirements of the laboratory. The haematologists also must be aware that automation has its own problems, limitations, disadvantages and interfering elements. The article discusses the present state of art.