Ultra-rapid diagnostic tissue preparation as an alternative to frozen section

A system for processing of a specimen from a solid tissue, comprising:

• (a) a hardening module to harden the specimen, comprised of (i) a first chamber having an interior shaped as a whispering gallery, (ii) a first lid that isolates the first chamber when closed, is opaque to microwave radiation, and accesses the first chamber when open, (iii) a first gasket retaining chemical fumes and evaporation within the interior of the first chamber, and (iv) a radiation source transmitting microwave energy to the interior of the first chamber;
• wherein the specimen is contacted with a chemical admixture in the whispering gallery;
• (b) an impregating module to impregnate the specimen that was hardened, comprised of (i) a second chamber having an interior capable of providing a reduced pressure relative to the exterior, (ii) a second lid that isolates the second chamber when closed and accesses the second chamber when open, (iii) a gasket maintaining a pressure differential between the interior and the exterior of the second chamber, (iv) a pump at least decreasing pressure within the interior of the second chamber below 1 bar, and (v) a heater conducting thermal energy to the interior of the second chamber;
• wherein the hardened specimen is contacted with a molten matrix in the chamber;
• and
• (c) an embedding module to solidify a block containing the specimen that was hardened and impregnated, comprised of a cooler conducting thermal energy from the block.