Claims
- 1. A system for processing a tissue specimen for histology by hardening and impregnating said tissue specimen to produce an embedded tissue specimen suitable for sectioning, comprising a plurality of modules each comprised of a chemical composition contained within a reaction chamber of at least types (a)-(e):
(a) a first module containing a first solution comprised of a ketone and an alcohol; (b) a second module containing a second solution comprised of a ketone and an alcohol, wherein concentration of ketone in said second solution is lower than concentration of ketone in said first solution; (c) a third module containing a third solution comprised of a ketone, an alcohol, and a mineral oil; (d) a fourth module containing a fourth solution comprised of a mineral oil and another impregnating agent, said another impregnating agent is a wax that would be solid at room temperature; (e) a fifth module containing a fifth solution comprised of a wax; (f) an agitator is provided in one or more modules to promote chemical exchange between tissue specimen and solution; (g) a microwave unit transferring energy to and heating at least the contents of at least three reaction chambers of types (a)-(c); (h) a heater unit transferring energy to at least one of the contents of at least three reaction chambers of type (d) or (e) to provide radiant heat; and (i) an armature conveyance travelling between at least two of said plurality of modules which transfers tissue specimens therebetween to transfer tissue specimens from module to module; wherein each module contains a substantially non-aqueous composition; hardening of said tissue specimen is caused by fixation and dehydration with at least some of said chemicals and said microwave radiation; said tissue specimen is transferred between successive modules in an ordered sequence; and a tissue specimen between about 1 mm and 2 mm in thickness can be hardened, impregnated, and embedded in wax in less than two hours.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said first solution has a volume ratio of alcohol to ketone in a range between 1:1 and 6:1.
- 3. The system of claim 2, wherein said first solution is further comprised of polymers between 100 and 500 average molecular weight and a surfactant.
- 4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said chemical compositions is comprised of a xylene.
- 5. The system of claim 1, wherein none of said chemical compositions is comprised of a xylene.
- 6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said reaction chambers is comprised of:
(i) a removable container with walls which are adapted to fit within said at least one of said reaction chambers in close apposition thereto and which are at least partially in contact with the chemical composition contained therein, (ii) a lid adapted to fit on said removable container and over a surface of the chemical composition contained therein, and (iii) thermal insulation surrounding said removable container which reduces heat loss from the contents of said at least one of said reaction chambers; wherein the walls of said removable container and said lid define a total volume; and space between said chemical composition contained within the removable container and said lid is at most 10% of said total volume.
- 7. The system of claim 1, wherein said microwave unit is comprised of:
(i) a source which generates microwave radiation, and (ii) a waveguide which transmits the microwave radiation; wherein said microwave radiation is transmitted from the source to at least three reaction chambers of types (a)-(c) by the waveguide; said at least three reaction chambers have an interior configuration providing a substantially uniform distribution of temperature in their contents; and there is independent control of microwave radiation transmitted to each of said at least three reaction chambers.
- 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said contents of said at least three reaction chambers are heated to a temperature between 50° C. and 75° C.
- 9. The system of claim 7, wherein said source is a magnetron generating microwave radiation with a wavelength of about 2450 megahertz.
- 10. The system of claim 7, wherein said source has a power output which varies between 0 and 1000 watts, and independently transmitted to each of said at least three reaction chambers.
- 11. The system of claim 7, wherein said interior configuration is a whispering gallery.
- 12. A system for processing a tissue specimen for histology, comprising a plurality of modules each comprised of a non-aqueous chemical composition contained within a reaction chamber of at least types (a)-(c):
(a) at least one of said plurality of modules containing a solution comprised of a fixative, (b) at least one of said plurality of modules containing a solution comprised of a dehydrating agent, (c) at least one of said plurality of modules containing a solution comprised of an impregnating agent, (d) an agitator is provided in one or more modules to promote chemical exchange between tissue specimen and solution, (e) a microwave unit transferring energy to and heating at least the contents of the reaction chambers of types (a)-(b), (f) a heater unit transferring energy to at least one of the contents of a reaction chamber of type (c) to provide radiant heat, and (g) an armature conveyance travelling between at least two of said plurality of modules which transfers tissue specimens therebetween to transfer tissue specimens from module to module; wherein said chemical compositions contained in reaction chambers of types (a)-(c) are substantially non-aqueous; and wherein a first tissue specimen is transferred from a type (a) reaction chamber to a type (c) reaction chamber, and then a second tissue specimen is transferred to a type (a) reaction chamber before the first tissue specimen is transferred from the module of type (c) in an ordered sequence.
- 13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of said reaction chambers is comprised of:
(i) a removable container with walls which are adapted to fit within said at least one of said reaction chambers in close apposition thereto and which are at least partially in contact with the chemical composition contained therein, (ii) a lid adapted to fit on said removable container and over a surface of the chemical composition contained therein, and (iii) thermal insulation surrounding said removable container which reduces heat loss from the contents of said at least one of said reaction chambers; wherein the walls of said removable container and said lid define a total volume; and space between said chemical composition contained within the removable container and said lid is at most 10% of said total volume.
- 14. The system of claim 12, wherein said microwave unit is comprised of:
(i) a source which generates microwave radiation, and (ii) a waveguide which transmits the microwave radiation; wherein said microwave radiation is transmitted from the source to at least two reaction chambers of types (a)-(b) by the waveguide; said at least two reaction chambers have an interior configured as a whispering gallery; and there is independent control of microwave radiation transmitted to each of said at least two reaction chambers.
- 15. The system of claim 14, wherein said contents of said at least two reaction chambers are heated to a temperature between 50° C. and 75° C.
- 16. The system of claim 14, wherein said source is a magnetron generating microwave radiation with a wavelength of 2450 megahertz.
- 17. The system of claim 14, wherein said source has a power output which varies between 0 and 1000 watts, and independently transmitted to each of said at least two reaction chambers.
- 18. The system of claim 12, wherein said contents of at least one reaction chamber of type (c) are heated to a temperature greater than 65° C.
- 19. The system of claim 12, wherein processing of a tissue specimen is completed in less than two hours.
- 20. The system of claim 12, wherein processing of a tissue specimen is completed in less than 1.5 hours.
- 21. The system of claim 12, wherein there are at least between three and nine different modules.
- 22. The system of claim 21, wherein there are at least nine different modules containing at least five different chemical compositions.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority benefit to provisional U.S. Appln. No. 60/170,545 which was filed Dec. 14, 1999 and is still pending. Moreover, this application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/136,292, filed Aug. 19, 1998, which claimed priority benefit to U.S. Appln. No. 60/056,102, filed Aug. 20, 1997.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60170545 |
Dec 1999 |
US |