Reagents are also needed for blood cell counting and differentiation, for which different types of automation are used. These include differentiated cell counting, cell counting via imaging, cell counting by particle counting and other automated systems. These systems offer even better accuracy than manual counting, as well as allowing optimal storage of results for later reference.
For proper detection of erythrocyte counts, the most commonly used reagents are special staining reagents. Most of these stains are designed for the identification of certain qualities of erythrocytes, such as their diameter, shape, or number of red blood cells. These techniques are frequently used in the detection and counting of abnormal red cells, such as immature red cells, abnormal red cells, and malformed red cells.