Inventors:
John Voneiff - Baltimore MD, US
Jay Gibson - Passadena MD, US
Gary Pasternack - Baltimore MD, US
International Classification:
G01N 1/30
B29C 65/00
A23G 3/02
US Classification:
435 4052, 435 4051, 156 64, 426105, 426414, 426420, 426502
Abstract:
An apparatus and method for producing tissue slides is disclosed. The apparatus includes a holding assembly for manipulating the sample block, a blade assembly for preparing a thin section from the sample block, and a transfer roller mechanism for transferring the thin section to a receiving medium. The apparatus further includes a controller that may track the sample block and thin section. The method includes the steps of first locating a sample embedded within a support medium, which may be paraffin or a similar medium. Next, the embedded sample is oriented in such a way that its working surface is presented. This orientation may entail determining the orientation of the embedded sample with respect to the blade that will produce the largest cross-sectional area. Next, a slice of the sample from said embedded sample is removed and subsequently transferred to a suitable receiving medium, which may include a microscope slide. The slices may be stained, and a representation of the slice may be captured by an image capture device.