Phantom Rapid Tissue ProcessorA rapid tissue processor enables more efficient, quick, and accurate processing of tissue samples. It accomplishes this through the simultaneous application of multiple solutions to the tissue specimen during each of the following steps: fixation, dehydration, clearing, and impregnation.
Conventional tissue processing methods utilize hazardous, carcinogenic chemicals that are known to cause damage to the specimen. These chemicals also inadvertently remove free water from the tissue sample, which damages smaller, less dense portions of the specimen.
Introduction
A Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor is a device intended for use in the histology laboratory to process the tissues taken from the body for diagnosis of disease processes and to produce microscopic slides that can be viewed under the microscope. It is of two types: a tissue-transfer machine and a fluid-transfer machine.
Tissue processing involves the steps of fixation, dehydration, clearing, and embedding of human or animal tissue samples to prepare them for section cutting on a microtome. These steps can be performed manually or automatically with an automated Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor.
Various methods have been proposed to speed up tissue processing. Such as adding heat energy to the solution during the dehydration, clearing, and embedding steps. However, a key issue in decreasing tissue processing time is that the integrity of the sample must remain high during these steps.
The invention addresses this problem by introducing an alternating cycle of ohmic and microwave energy to achieve the desired temperature of the solution and maintain it during each step of the processing method. The alternating cycles of ohmic and microwave energy facilitate complete chemical reactions within the processing medium and prevent proteins from migrating in the tissue specimen.
In another embodiment, the present invention utilizes a super-absorbent. Water-soluble polymer to absorb the free water molecules from the tissue sample during dehydration. This replacement of the bound water promotes hardening and increases the density of the sample.
Fixation
Fixation is the first step in the processing of tissue samples for laboratory testing. It initiates the preservation of the tissue specimen by cross-linking proteins and halting cellular degradation. During fixation, the tissues are placed in a liquid fixative such as formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde solution which will slowly penetrate and cause chemical and physical changes that will harden and preserve the tissue.
The diffusability of each individual fixative has an important effect on its ability to penetrate into the tissues. Formalin and alcohol penetrate the best, while glutaraldehyde has a much lower penetration ability.
Penetration of the tissue
Penetration of the tissue can be enhanced by increasing the concentration of the fixative and heating it up. Fixation with hot formalin usually works faster than cold formalin.
Another factor is that the pH of the fixative needs to be adjusted close to neutral for optimum fixation. Tissues are prone to acidification with hypoxia, so buffering capacity is needed in the fixative to keep it from becoming too acidic and producing polarizable deposits in the tissue.
A 10 to 1 ratio of fixative to tissue is ideal, as this ensures adequate diffusion into the tissues. It is also helpful to section the tissues thinly so that the fixative is able to penetrate into all parts of the specimen.
Dehydration of Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor
Dehydration occurs when the body loses water through sweat, tears, breathing, urine, or stool. The body replaces the lost water by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. When the body is dehydrated, it may also have an imbalance of minerals and salts known as electrolytes.
People who are chronically ill or have certain medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus and kidney disease are at increased risk for dehydration. Other health issues can also make you more susceptible to dehydration, including fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dry mouth and tongue, sunken eyes, and dry mucous membranes. They can be hard to detect early but can become more obvious as dehydration progresses.
It can be difficult to keep up with your fluid intake when you’re sick. If you’re experiencing symptoms of dehydration such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. This is why it’s important to keep up with your daily fluid intake.
This is especially true when the weather is hot and humid. As sweat can’t evaporate quickly enough to cool you down.
If you are experiencing a dehydration crisis, visit your doctor or local urgent care right away to avoid further complications. They will assess your needs and prescribe the right amount of fluids to help you feel better.
Clearing of Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor
The clearing is a critical step in the tissue processing process. It helps to make tissue sections wrinkling-free, improves staining, and reduces artifacts, among other benefits.
Clearing typically involves extracting a dehydrating agent from the specimen and dissolving the lipid molecules that contribute to the opacity of tissue samples. Commonly used reagents include xylene, limonene, chloroform, toluene, petroleum ether, carbon bisulfide, and dioxane.
While clearing has traditionally been a time-consuming process, the new Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor makes it easy to achieve ideal processing conditions in a fraction of the time. A unique ActivFlo system delivers the optimum temperature, pressure, and humidity levels for optimal results.
Unlike traditional processors, the Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor pumps the reagents into and out of a processing container at preset times and is designed for error-free operation. Typical causes of errors during tissue processing include creating an incorrect dilution or concentration, pouring the wrong reagent into the wrong bottle, or mixing up the reagent bottle positions on a processor.
The Xpress Series reagents are specially formulated to be compatible with the Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor and ensure proper performance without compromising the integrity of your tissue. Combined with the ingenious error-free design of the Xpress Series Processor, your lab will experience less downtime, more productivity, and improved patient outcomes.
The Xpress Series reagents feature an innovative liquid processing reagent that performs dehydration and clearing simultaneously. This saves time and money by reducing the volume of reagent bottles needed on the processor while providing optimal performance.
Impregnation of Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor
Phantom Rapid Tissue Processor is a rapid, scalable system that performs the steps of fixation, dehydration, clearing, and impregnation (sometimes herein referred to as infiltration) quickly. It can process tissue samples in a period of time ranging from ten minutes to two hours. Depending on the type of tissue and selected processing protocol.
Impregnation is a process that fills pores in a porous material, usually with an epoxy resin. It is a useful technique for reducing porosity and improving the surface characteristics of materials. In addition, impregnation can be used to make parts stronger and more durable.
It can be performed on a wide range of materials, including metals, plastics, ceramics, and wood. In particular, impregnation can be beneficial for castings with blind or continuous pores. It can also be used to seal voids in powdered metal parts as well as forgings and weldments.
Paraffin is the most common embedding medium for routine tissue processing. It provides a soft, smooth, and stable medium for serial sections to be cut from tissue specimens.
Types of impregnation resins
There are several different types of impregnation resins, each with unique properties. For example, some resins are soluble in polar solvents, while others have to be dissolved in water. Regardless of the type, the impregnation resin should be able to penetrate the pore structure of the porous material without damaging the cell wall or other components of the material.
The use of a dilution bath can be a valuable advantage when using an impregnation resin because it reduces the amount of residual polymer on the roving, which can reduce fiber damage. The dilution bath can also be used for a multi-feed configuration. Which can increase material throughput and speed up the winding process.
