Advanced Flow Cytometry Laboratory

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Overview

Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla

The Advanced Flow Cytometry Laboratory (AFCL) at BCMCH delivers high-precision cellular immunophenotyping using state-of-the-art DxFLEX Clinical Flow Cytometry. AFCL supports rapid and accurate diagnosis, subclassification, and therapy guidance for hematologic malignancies, immune disorders, and plasma cell dyscrasias.

Flow cytometry enables real-time, multiparametric analysis of individual cells, forming a cornerstone in modern hematology and immunology. AFCL integrates expert hematopathology, automated analytical workflows, and stringent quality systems to ensure reliable, clinically meaningful results.

 

Services

Why Flow Cytometry at BCMCH?

Flow cytometry plays a critical role in:

  • Assigning lineage in acute leukemias
  • Detecting clonal B-, T-, and NK-cell populations
  • Supporting WHO 2022 & ICC diagnostic standards
  • Selecting minimal residual disease (MRD) markers
  • Evaluating plasma cell clonality
  • Monitoring immune reconstitution and treatment response

Core Medical Team

Dr. Bonnie Anna George, MBBS, MD

Consultant Hematopathologist
Specializes in diagnostic hematopathology, integrating flow cytometry with morphology, cytogenetics and molecular hematology for precise disease classification.

Dr. Abel Jaison, MBBS, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Focuses on cellular immunology and development of diagnostic algorithms that complement precision hematology services.

Mr. Harikrishnan Babu
Senior Research Scientist – Flow Cytometry
Expert in advanced multicolor flow cytometry applications, assay optimization and high-complexity immune profiling.


Diagnostic Services

AFCL provides a structured test menu built on international guidelines and clinical needs. All tests have a 24-hour TAT when received within sample cut-off times.


1. Comprehensive Acute Leukemia Immunophenotyping Panel

A full diagnostic panel for suspected acute leukemia.
Establishes lineage (AML, B-ALL, T-ALL), identifies blast populations, detects aberrant antigen expression, and supports WHO/ICC classification. Helps identify MPAL, ETP-ALL, APL-like AML and defines markers for MRD monitoring.

Recommended for:

  • Newly diagnosed leukemia
  • Pancytopenia with blasts
  • Ambiguous or discordant morphology
  • Low-blast-count samples with high clinical suspicion
  • Pre-treatment immunophenotyping

BCMCH Proposed Rate: 10,600
TAT: 24 hours


2. Acute Leukemia – Basic Screening Panel

A frontline rapid panel used in emergency and triage settings to detect blasts and provide early myeloid vs lymphoid lineage orientation.

Recommended for:

  • First evaluation of suspected acute leukemia
  • ER/OPD diagnostic triage
  • Urgent decision-making before comprehensive immunophenotyping

BCMCH Proposed Rate: 7,450
TAT: 24 hours


3. Acute Leukemia – Secondary Immunophenotyping Panel

A problem-solving panel for cases with atypical, overlapping or ambiguous features. Assesses precursor markers, TCR subsets, cortical thymic markers, erythroid/megakaryocytic exclusion markers, and additional refinement parameters.

Useful for:

  • Mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL)
  • Early T-cell Precursor ALL (ETP-ALL)
  • Distinguishing precursor vs mature lymphoid neoplasms
  • Refining ambiguous findings from initial panels

BCMCH Proposed Rate: 4,550
TAT: 24 hours


4. Lymphoid Screening Panel

A broad lymphoid evaluation panel used to triage suspected lymphoma, lymphocytosis, and abnormal lymphoid proliferations. Detects clonal B-cell populations, evaluates T- and NK-cell phenotypes, and identifies blast populations requiring leukemia panels.

Recommended for:

  • Lymphocytosis
  • Suspected CLL/lymphoma
  • Ambiguous hematologic presentations
  • Screening before detailed lymphoma or leukemia panels

BCMCH Proposed Rate: 6,600
TAT: 24 hours


5. Lymphocyte Subset Analysis (TBNK Panel)

Provides quantitative assessment of T-, B-, and NK-cell subsets for immunodeficiency evaluations and therapy monitoring.

Recommended for:

  • Persistent lymphocytosis
  • Primary/secondary immunodeficiency
  • Post-chemotherapy / post-transplant immune monitoring

BCMCH Proposed Rate: 3,850
TAT: 24 hours


6. Basic Myeloma Screening Panel

Assesses clonal plasma cells, differentiates neoplastic vs reactive plasmacytosis, and evaluates light-chain restriction.

Recommended for:

  • Suspected multiple myeloma or MGUS
  • Abnormal SPEP / immunofixation results
  • Baseline plasma cell quantification

BCMCH Proposed Rate: 4,200
TAT: 24 hours


Sample Receiving & Turnaround Time

Day

Sample Cut-off

TAT

Monday – Friday

Till 12 PM

24 hours

Saturday

Till 10 AM

Before Monday 12 PM

Sample Types:
Peripheral blood, bone marrow aspirate, body fluids (CSF, effusions), FNAC rinses, fresh lymph node tissue (not fixed).


Looking Ahead

AFCL is expanding its services to include:

  • PNH testing
  • AML, B-ALL and T-ALL MRD
  • DNA ploidy analysis
  • Platelet functional studies
  • Advanced immunodeficiency evaluation
  • Research support for students and clinicians

Contact
0469-3503100 / 2703100
flowcytometry@bcmch.edu.in

 

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