Diffusion monitoring protocol for optimized tissue fixation
AssigneeVentana Medical Systems, Inc.
InventorsDaniel Bauer, David Chafin, Michael Otter
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Abstract
The subject disclosure presents systems and computer-implemented methods for evaluating a tissue sample that has been removed from a subject. A change in speed of the energy traveling through the sample is evaluated to monitor changes in the biological sample during processing. The rate of change in the speed of the energy is correlated with the extent of diffusion. A system for performing the method can include a transmitter that outputs the energy and a receiver configured to detect the transmitted energy. A time-of-flight of acoustic waves and rate of change thereof is monitored to determine an optimal time for soaking the tissue sample in a fixative.
Claims19
A system for monitoring diffusion of a solution into a biological sample comprising:
- (a) a signal analyzer containing one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more memories stores computer-executable instructions that cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
- (a1) fitting a time of flight (TOF) trace to a single curve, the TOF trace comprising a plurality of TOF signal measurements transmitted through the biological sample at a plurality of time points, and
- (a2) computing the rate of diffusion at each time point of the plurality of time points by calculating a derivative of the single curve.
A method of processing a tissue sample comprising:
- (a) immersing the tissue sample in a solution at a first temperature;
- (b) monitoring a rate of diffusion of the solution into the tissue sample by:
- (b1) transmitting an acoustic signal through the tissue sample and detecting the acoustic signal after the signal has passed through the tissue sample;
- (b2) calculating the time of flight (TOF) of the acoustic signal;
- (b3) repeating (b1) and (b2) at a plurality of subsequent time points;
- (b4) calculating a rate of diffusion at least at each of the subsequent time points;
- and
- (b5) determining when the rate of diffusion falls below a predetermined threshold.
A tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium to store computer-readable code that is executed by a processor to perform operations comprising:
- (a) monitor a time of flight (TOF) of an acoustic wave traversing a tissue sample immersed in a fixative;
- (b) calculating a rate of diffusion based on the TOF;
- and
- (c) comparing the rate of diffusion with a threshold to determine an optimal time to remove the tissue sample from the fixative.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.