You have seen the Live Blood Cell Analysis (LBCA) at a trade show, read some articles, appreciate the value of this tool in clinical practice and you are now keen to choose a course and get some equipment. An internet search turns up some organizations that offer the training and now the confusion begins. Depending on who you talk to, you will hear differing opinions. As a practitioner using the Live Cell Microscopy in my nutritional consulting practice for 27 years, I  would like to clarify how to make an educated decision that maximizes the amount of money that you are about to spend. It can be a very costly decision if the wrong choices are made.

1. What is being taught?

There can be great disparity between one school of thought over another. There is classic hematology, usually done on a Phase Contrast system & there is Enderlein theory & Sanums, always done on a Darkfield system because that's the best way to study the bacterial phases of the endobiont.

My initial training was what I call “popular” microscopy, completed in Arizona 25 years ago. It was Phase Contrast, no Enderlein theory or Sanums. Their primary use of the live blood was to sell nutritional products. i.e. here's the condition, here's the product to target it. Anyone could do the training. This is a potentially dangerous situation for researchers as well as those who are looking for progressive health services. It puts microscopy in a bad light as these services come under government scrutiny.

There are also individuals and companies who train people to identify the blood conditions based only on hematology - it's a more allopathic approach that palliates the symptoms rather than focusing on the terrain & eliminating the underlying causes. Although useful as an introduction to the blood conditions, it is not the best approach to practise this way. One course I attended many years ago with a Hematologist was excellent information on pleomorphism and mycoplasma. These are chemically induced, mutated bacterial forms. When I inquired about what was recommended to clean up the mycoplasma, the answer was to take antibiotics, the very chemicals that created the problem in the first place!

Some of the courses teach good dietary and nutritional principles and promote other assessment equipment or a particular product line. Unfortunately, with serious disease, this is not enough to address the pleomorphic cycle & clean up Cell Wall Deficient organisms (Haptens do this very well). The additional equipment or product that is being promoted is very expensive. The focus is no longer on a thorough microscopy training using Enderlein principles and protocols. It is a “bate and switch” technique using the microscope to get you in to look at other equipment/products being sold.

2. Why Darkfield over Phase Contrast?

I often hear from unhappy individuals who are suffering the consequences of buying expensive, but inadequate equipment. Beware of courses that sell the equipment and include the training as a package.  Often there are errors in technical understanding associated with the training that accompanies the equipment promotion.

An excellent Darkfield microscope system with video camera will cost around $8,000. CDN. The best Darkfield system employs a mirror condenser of special design, the Cardiod Condenser. This condenser uses special mirrors that form a hollow cone of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. The specimen is therefore illuminated by peripheral light. The background is black as the direct light from the condenser passes around and not through the objective. This gives the enormous contrast, as we see only the jet black background and brilliant white light from the blood elements. These systems produce true high illumination with a 100 watt equivalent LED light source and oil immersion.

Phase Contrast is an illumination system designed on the principle of light retardation and phase absorption. A special condenser and objectives are required and a setting of specific phase “plates” for each objective used. The image produced appears in various shades of grey/blue, with the background being lighter than the specimen (the opposite of Darkfield). My first microscope was a Phase Contrast system. After training with the late Michael Coyle in Darkfield, I ended up needing to replace this a few years later, a very costly venture.

Darkfield is particularly superior and valuable in searching for the detailed examination of the smallest particles such as the advanced phases of the life cycle of the colloidal microorgansims which are at the very deepest level of the causes of blood imbalance. Darkfield creates a tremendous contrast which increases the definition and resolution to a degree that is simply not possible with Phase Contrast.

3. Dry Mount/Oxidative Stress Test:

This is a test that is done by allowing blood drops to dry on a slide. This technique began with Dr. Goldberger and then Dr. Bolen in the US in 1942. It was called the Sedimentation or Bolen Blood Test. Doctors Henri Heitan and LaGarde continued use of the “Color Microphotographic Test”.  Bradford later published the rationale for this test in 1981. A complete LBCA course should include the theory behind this practice. It is a very useful tool to accompany the Darkfield analysis of the blood. 

4. Instructor(s) Experience:

It is one thing to be a great practitioner and know the material; it is another thing to be able to present a lot of very technical material in an effective and concise way. It is also important to have teaching materials and a learning environment with adequate equipment that supports the learning process. 

 Questions to ask about the training:

◾  Is Enderlein theory and Sanum therapy taught in the course?

◾  Do you teach Phase Contrast or Darkfield?

◾  Is the Oxidative Stress Test taught?

◾  Can you give me references so I can speak to students who completed your training?

◾  How much time is spent on actual microscopes?

◾  What teaching experience do the course instructor(s) have?

◾  What clinical experience and professional training do the course instructor(s) have? 

References:

Blood Examination in Darkfield according to Prof. Dr. Gunther Enderlein,

Semmelweis-Verlag. 1993.

Bacteria Cyclogeny, Enderlein, 1981.

Unappreciated Friend or Unsuspected Foe?, Dr. Maria Bleker, 2004.

Advanced Dry Cell Blood Analysis, Dr. Dona Garafano, 2019.

 Photos: Darkfield and Phase Contrast

Phase Contrast

Darkfield