[The data-base including digitized morphologies for clinical testing of bone marrow samples using personal computer].

Abstract

Clinical testing of bone marrow is essential for diagnosis and treatment of hematopoietic disorder. It is sometimes difficult to provide an accurate morphological explanation of bone marrow cells in the reports. Various methods, such as detailed descriptions or sketches of the cells have been attempted to accurately describe the results to clinicians. However, these descriptions and sketches may vary depending on the individual. To resolve this problem, a data-base including digitized microscopic examinations using a personal computer for tested bone marrow samples has been developed. This system enables accurate reporting of cellular morphology by printing out colored figures. Moreover, chronological data may be easily displayed and reviewed on the screen. To assess those functions and the quality of print outs showing cellular morphologies, a questionnaire survey evaluating this system was conducted. As a result, a fairly good assessment was given to the print outs showing various morphologies including leukemic cells, infiltrated tumor cells and some cytochemical staining methods (peroxidase, esterase and periodic acid Schiff reaction). However, a few respondents suggested that expression color in print outs of minute morphologies such as chromatin strands, nucleoli and a few azurophil granules were incomplete. As for data-base functions, responses to the questionnaire were fairly good. In conclusion, this attempt is very useful and practical for clinical testing of bone marrow samples.