The use of smartphone‐obtained images to extrapolate canine packed cell volume.

Objective: To determine whether a smartphone‐obtained image can be used to extrapolate the PCV of canine blood samples. Design: Prospective study of surplus blood obtained from clinical cases. Setting: University teaching hospital. Interventions: Blood samples were placed on filter paper, and images were obtained with a smartphone in different environments. These results were then compared to the PCV measurements on the same samples following the World Health Organization guidelines. Measurements: Sixty‐nine samples were assessed and identified that smartphone images, obtained in a controlled environment, were able to predict the PCV of the samples. This prediction was most accurate when assessing samples of a normal erythroid mass or polycythemic samples. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that smartphone‐obtained images do have a utility in predicting canine PCV. If this can be incorporated into a smartphone application, there would be scope to use this in low resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]