Automated high volume slide staining system
AssigneeVentana Medical Systems, Inc.
InventorsKurt Reinhardt, Charles D. Lemme, Glen Ward, William Richards, Wayne Showalter
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Abstract
An automated slide processing apparatus includes a plurality of work stations arranged in a stack, and a transport/elevator for transporting slides between the various work stations.
Claims51
An automated slide processing apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of work stations arranged vertically in a stack;
- and
- a transport/elevator for transporting slides between said work stations.
A de-waxing or de-paraffinizing station for processing specimen slides, and comprising, a reservoir containing an aqueous-based de-waxing or de-paraffinizing fluid;
- a heater for heating said aqueous-based fluid;
- a sprayer for spraying said heated aqueous-based fluid onto said slides;
- a collector for collecting and returning the aqueous-based fluid to the reservoir;
- and a filter for filtering the aqueous-based fluid for reuse.
An automated slide processing apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of work stations arranged vertically in a stack;
- and
- a transport/elevator for transporting said slides between said work stations, wherein one of said work stations comprises a combined baking or drying and de-waxing or de-paraffinizing station.
A combined baking or drying and de-waxing or de-paraffinizing station for processing specimen slides, comprising a radiant heater for heating said slides, and a sprayer for spraying de-waxing or de-paraffinizing fluid from a reservoir onto said heated slides.
A combined baking or drying and de-waxing or de-paraffinizing station as claimed in claim 47, wherein said rack is adapted to hold a plurality of slides in spaced-apart rows.
A method of automatically preparing tissue samples on microscope slides for pathological analysis, comprising:
- baking the tissue sample onto the slide by having the instrument apply heat to the tissue sufficient to adhere it to the slide;
- deparaffinizing the tissue sample by contacting it with deparaffinizing fluid at a temperature above the melting point of the paraffin, and subsequently rinsing the liquefied paraffin away;
- staining the tissue sample by contacting it with a staining reagent;
- and
- coverslipping the slide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.