Zoetis has announced an expansion of Vetscan OptiCell that it says will make it the first point-of-care haematology analyser to offer cellular haemoglobin concentration mean (CHCM), giving practices access to a parameter that was previously available only in reference laboratories.

Cellular haemoglobin concentration mean gives clinicians a direct measurement of the average haemoglobin concentration within individually analysed red blood cells.

Unlike mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, which is a calculated value, cellular haemoglobin concentration mean is measured optically, which Zoetis says provides a more reliable indicator needed when a patient is anaemic and when endogenous interferents, such as haemolysis, are present.

The expansion also includes plateletcrit (PCT) measurement. 

Plateletcrit provides the volume percentage of blood occupied by platelets – functionally similar to how haematocrit (HCT) reflects the red blood cell fraction.

Zoetis says PCT helps clinicians better assess platelet production, consumption, and evidence of destruction.

Both new parameters are expected to be available to Vetscan OptiCell users in 2026.

https://www.zoetisdiagnostics.com/uk