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Automated CBC and Cell Morphology Analysis Solution, miLab™ BCM

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miLab™ BCM sets a new standard in blood analysis. Unlike traditional blood tests, this system fully automates the entire sample preparation process—including blood smearing, fixation, and staining—along with digital imaging and AI-powered analysis. It enables seamless and consistent Complete Blood Count (CBC) and Morphology testing, ensuring reliable results and a streamlined workflow. Notably, miLab™ BCM delivers high-quality cellular analysis even with a small sample volume, providing an optimized solution for efficient and accurate diagnostics.

miLab™ BCM focuses on improving access to basic blood test.

Blood cell analysis is the most common diagnostic test in the world, but many people are still excluded from accessing these tests due to healthcare access constraints in areas with insufficient infrastructure and experts.

Current Status of Global Blood Cell Analysis

* Year 2021

  • CBC-based blood cell
    analysis tests administered worldwide
    4 billion cases
  • Microscopic blood cell analysis tests administered worldwide
    600 million
  • Global health facilities can perform microscopic blood
    cell analysis
    1%
  • Left out of the health care system worldwide
    2 billion
  • 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
    'Coverage of essential health services'
    3.8.1

Segmented Process of CBC and Morphology Testing

Complex processes and conditions
CBC tests are performed first, with morphology analysis conducted if abnormalities are detected. Morphology testing involves multiple complex steps, such as reagent preparation, smearing, staining, and image analysis, demanding high expertise. Separate lab space, specialized equipment, and reagents are needed, making it difficult for small and mid-sized hospitals to implement.
Cost and Operational Burden
High costs of diagnostic equipment and maintenance limit adoption, especially in rural and low-to-middle-income regions. Transporting samples to large labs increases logistics costs and risks sample degradation, often necessitating retesting.
Shortage and Geographic Disparity of Diagnostic Professionals
Skilled professionals are concentrated in cities, leaving rural areas with limited diagnostic personnel. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased diagnostic demand, exacerbating workforce shortages.
Consistency and Quality Control Challenges
Manual morphology testing varies based on technician expertise. In low-to-middle-income countries, weak quality control and inadequate training systems hinder consistent test results.

Automation of the Entire Testing Process: Integrates the Entire Process from Blood Smearing and Staining to AI Analysis of Digital Images

(Integration) Streamlining Blood Testing
  • Combines CBC and Morphology testing into a single workflow.
  • Uses hydrogel-based staining to simplify Morphology tests by eliminating staining, washing, and drying steps.
  • Replaces reagents and tools with a smart cartridge system.
(Automation) Fully Automated from Sample Preparation to AI Analysis
  • Automates blood smearing, staining, digital imaging, and AI-based CBC and Morphology analysis.
  • Allows medical professionals to focus on other tasks while tests run independently.
(Classification) AI-Powered Blood Cell Count and Morphology Categorization
  • AI pre-classifies CBC parameters and cell morphology.
  • Digital images and data support training and education.
(Digitalization) Remote Image Storage and Interpretation
  • Enables result interpretation from anywhere via the miLab™ platform.
  • Expands diagnostic access in regions with a shortage of skilled personnel.

Provides differentiated value by improving accessibility and workflow according to the actual needs of users

1. Small to Mid-Sized Healthcare Facilities Seeking In-House Blood Testing (CBC + Morphology) for Screening
Target Customers
Healthcare facilities without CBC equipment that plan to introduce CBC and Morphology tests as part of their screening services. Medical institutions looking for a blood testing solution suitable for their facility size.
Expected Value
Expands revenue streams by adding CBC and Morphology testing as new diagnostic services.
Background
Routine blood tests are a core part of health checkups, analyzing blood components (RBC, WBC, platelets) for conditions like anemia, infections, and leukemia.
Problem
Unlike large hospitals, small to mid-sized facilities often lack appropriate blood testing equipment. They must send samples to external labs, leading to additional costs and potential degradation of sample integrity, affecting diagnostic accuracy and efficiency.
Use-Case
With miLab™, facilities can perform in-house CBC and Morphology tests quickly and accurately without specialized personnel.
This enhances accessibility and streamlines the testing process
Benefits
Clinics and small hospitals can generate additional revenue by offering blood tests. Patients gain access to immediate health assessments at nearby facilities, improving medical accessibility. Early diagnosis and treatment potential increase, contributing to overall healthcare quality.
2. Local Medical Institutions that Want to Provide Peripheral Blood Smear Tests Independently
Target Customers
Medical institutions that already installed CBC equipment but cannot perform the microscope-based peripheral blood smear tests independently.
Expected Value
Expand revenues by offering peripheral blood smear tests.
Background
Most hematology laboratories already installed CBC equipment. CBC inspection has the advantage of being quick and easy to use, but the level and accuracy of analysis are not high enough due to the limitations of technology. The CBC test can only determine whether the patient's blood condition is in the normal range or not. However, it is difficult to specify what abnormalities caused blood condition outside the normal range. Usually, 15-20% of patients visiting the hospital have blood conditions out of the normal range, and such patients need additional tests, such as peripheral blood smear tests based on microscopy, to determine the cause.
Problem
For medical institutions without peripheral blood smear tests capability, it is difficult to specify the reason why patients have a blood condition outside of the normal range indicated by CBC tests. In this case, samples should be delivered to an external specialized diagnostic laboratory or a higher-level medical institution for peripheral blood smear tests to clarify the patient's diagnosis and treatment plan. This process is time consuming and incurs additional costs for shipping the sample.. Therefore, emergency patients or patients who need periodic blood tests have no choice but to be referred to higher-level medical institutions.
Use-Case
The introduction of miLab™ BCM allows local medical institutions to perform peripheral blood smear tests independently on the patients whose blood was indicated to be in an abnormal range by the CBC test.. They can provide additional care for the patients based on the results of the miLab™ BCM analysis. Local medical institutions can identify patients’ conditions more quickly and accurately, allowing doctors to determine whether a patient should be referred to a higher-level hospital or not.
Benefits
With miLab™ BCM, local medical institutions can provide additional peripheral blood smear tests. Expanding the medical services for patients can increase the number of visits and the duration of treatment, which leads to additional revenue. From the perspective of the overall medical system operation, more local medical institutions with blood smear testing capability can reduce traffic and organizational challenges for patients in advanced hospitals.
3. Medical Institutions that Want to Optimize the Workflow on Peripheral Blood Smear Test
Target customers
Medical institutions operating a diagnostic laboratory for peripheral blood smear tests, where experts still perform diagnostic tests using traditional, labor-intensive processes.
Expected Value
Automated peripheral blood smear tests can improve workflow and productivity.
Background
A typical peripheral blood smear test is composed of labor-intensive processes. The sample preparation stage has blood smear, fixation, staining, washing, and drying processes which are all carried out manually. In the microscopic analysis stage, experts check the shape and distribution of blood cells one by one with a microscope.
Problem
Due to the labor-intensive processes, physical fatigue increases with the number of peripheral blood smear tests performed. Higher fatigue in experts can lead to an increased likelihood of human error. Each medical expert can only perform a set number of tests in a specific time period without compromising the gold standard process that all medical institutions should follow.
Use-Case
Medical institutions that want to increase productivity in peripheral blood smear tests can introduce miLab™ BCM to automate some or all of the process done by experts. The miLab™ BCM automatically performs the entire process from sample preparation to AI-based prehemocyte classification. Therefore, experts will be able to focus on reviewing and finalizing results on the monitor screen without checking each blood cell under a microscope. While experts are unavailable, other staff members can work with miLab™ BCM. When experts return, they can review and finalize the pre-analyzed results stored in the database.
Benefits
Medical institutions using miLab™ BCM can perform more tests than those using traditional processes given the same number of people and time. Medical institutions can respond to the growing demand for peripheral blood smear tests by introducing miLab™ BCM without hiring more experts. Higher productivity is more valuable in high-income countries where labor costs are high.
4. Medical Institutions That Want to Improve the Accuracy of Peripheral Blood Smear Tests
Target customers
Medical institutions that have their own diagnostic laboratories but conduct peripheral blood smear tests with low-skilled experts.
Expected Value
Enhancing quality assurance and quality management systems to improve the reliability of peripheral blood smear tests
Background
Typically, experts performing peripheral blood smear testing require specialized knowledge and experience as professional healthcare experts at the national level. In addition to completing professional education above the university and passing the national qualification exam, regular practical education and training are also required. In countries with well-equipped medical education facilities and systems such as the Republic of Korea, the level of experts is maintained. However, in middle and low-income countries, medical education facilities and systems are insufficient.
Problem
Because the peripheral blood smear test is carried out in a labor-intensive manner, the analysis and judgment results vary depending on the proficiency of the expert. Incorrect analysis results from the peripheral blood smear test lead to incorrect diagnosis and treatment of the patient. Healthcare organizations can compare the results by having multiple experts perform tests simultaneously to ensure that the results are accurate, or have a proven expert verify the results. However, all of these methods incur additional cost burdens, such as hiring highly qualified personnel.
Use-Case
For healthcare organizations that want to improve the accuracy of peripheral blood smear testing, miLab™ BCM can be included in their quality control system. miLab™ BCM standardized peripheral blood smear's core processes. Therefore, the reliability of experts can be confirmed by comparing the results of the peripheral blood smear test with the results of the miLab™ BCM. In addition, digital data generated by miLab™ BCM can be used for education and training materials for low-skilled experts.
Benefits
Medical institutions using miLab™ BCM can strengthen the peripheral blood smear test quality and verify the reliability of experts. In addition, experts can be trained and educated in low and middle-income countries that lack medical education facilities and systems utilizing the digital data of miLab™ BCM as educational and training materials.
5. Medical Institutions That Want to Perform Remote Blood Tests
Target customers
Medical institutions that lack the capability to perform blood tests or do not have access to higher-level hospitals with experts for consignment examinations.
Expected Value
Improving medical access for patients marginalized from the existing medical system.
Background
In remote and mountainous regions where physical access is not easy or in low and middle-income countries where specialized educational facilities are scarce, there are not enough experts to conduct peripheral blood smear tests. In some areas, there are no medical institutions capable of performing the peripheral blood smear tests.
Problem
Residents living in such areas, where it is difficult to take the peripheral blood smear test, have the inconvenience of traveling a long distance to get a test. Due to this inconvenience, they may not receive regular cervical cancer screening tests, which leads to being exposed to the risk of disease.
Use-Case
Medical institutions capable of collecting cervical cells in such areas can share digital data to ask remote experts for precise readings.
Benefits
With the introduction of miLab™ BCM, those medical institutions can improve residents' access to basic screening to help residents diagnose disease early and receive appropriate and timely treatment.
6. Special Situation

Blood tests are most basic diagnostic testing to check the patient's health. In addition to customer types above, we are looking for product applicability in a variety vases.


In particular, regarding miLab™ BCM, there are various market opportunities that have yet to be confirmed, such as situations that require basic blood tests in resource0constrained environments, and blood tests for infants and toddlers that requires tests with fingertip blood collection.


Do not hesitate to contact us anytime if you are interested in using miLab™ BCM products under special circumstances.

  • Malawi/Ghana miLab™ provides diagnostic results with higher accuracy and consistency compared to other available methods.

    The miLab™ platform is the only diagnostic platform in the world that follows the Gold Standard microscopic examination and diagnostic process. Microscopic diagnostics vary widely in sample preparation and diagnostic results depending on the skill of the technician or medical staff, but miLab™ has dramatically reduced errors by fully automating all of these processes.

    by Hans-Peter Beck
    University of Basel, Swiss TPH

BCM

Detect the target cells
in 15 min.

miLab™ BCM Specification
Sample Preparation
Smear methodAutomated ideal zone smear
Staining methodRomanowsky
Sample typeVenous blood
Sample volume4μℓ
Imaging
FocusMulti-focus images acquired (5 z stack layers)
Analysis
CBC
  • WBC Count
  • RBC Count
  • Hemoglobin
  • Hematocrit
  • Platelet Count
  • MCV/MCH/MCHC
Morphology Test
  • WBC 5-Differential (#/%, Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils
  • Immature Granulocytes (#/%, Myelocytes / Metamyelocytes / Promyelocytes)
  • Blast (#/%, Myeloblasts / Monoblasts / Lymphoblasts)
  • Reactive Lymphocyte (#/%)
  • nRBC (#)
  • PLT clumping (#)
  • Smudge Cell (#)
Viewing Functions (miLab™ and miLab Viewer™)
  • User Result Confirmation
  • Cell View (Cell differential, Cell Category Modification and images download)
  • Field View
  • Cell Reclassification (Available from miLab Viewer™)
  • Report (Available from miLab Viewer™ in PDF and Print-Out)
  • Cell Image download
Total Test Time
Avg. 20 mins
Product Code
ProductCode
miLab™ PlatformDMLA
miLab™ Cartridge BCMCBCA
miLab Viewer™SMVA
SafeFix™CSFA
miLab™ Slide CaseASCA