CELL-DYN
®
3200 System Operator’s Manual
14-61
9140181K—July 2002
Section 14
Reticulocyte Package
Procedure: Background Count
1. Select a tube from the current lot of reticulocyte reagent that will be used for
the day’s testing.
2. Label the tube “Retic Background” and record the current date on the tube.
NOTE:
One tube may be used to check daily background counts for a one-
week period, provided the reagent is not contaminated.
3. Turn the Reticulocyte Package ON as directed in
Retic Menu Options,
Turning the Reticulocyte Package ON and OFF
within this chapter.
4. From the
RETIC MAIN
menu screen, press the
[RETIC RUN]
key followed by
the
[BACKGROUND]
key.
5. Be sure that the READY indicator light on the Analyzer Status Indicator
Panel is illuminated in green and the word
Ready
is displayed in the Status
Box on the
RETIC RUN RESULT
screen.
6. Open the tube labeled “Retic Background” and immerse the Open Sample
Aspiration Probe in the reagent.
7. Press the Touch Plate located behind the probe to start the cycle. The BUSY
indicator light will be illuminated in yellow on the Analyzer Status Indicator
Panel. The Status Box on the
RETIC RUN RESULT
screen will display
messages indicating the various stages of the cycle.
8. Remove the tube when the beep sounds. The Wash Block will move down the
probe and clean it.
9. When the cycle is complete, the Wash Block moves back to the top of the
probe and the
Ready
message is displayed in the Status Box.
10. The screen displays the background count results as
Background Count Found in Retic Area.
11. Verify that the background count is within the acceptable limit of less than
100 counts.
NOTE:
Results that are outside the acceptable range are displayed in
purple.
12. If the background count is unacceptable, repeat it. If the repeated count is still
unacceptable, follow the directions for troubleshooting background count
problems given in
Troubleshooting
later in this section.
Quality Control
Quality control checks should be performed, at a minimum, every 8 hours that
reticulocyte samples are run or as required according to the laboratory’s protocol.
Control material should be properly warmed and prepared according to the
manufacturer’s recommendations. Patient controls should be handled according to
the laboratory’s protocol. For customizing the QC files see
Retic Menu Options,
later in this chapter.
