Apparatus and methods for automated handling and embedding of tissue samples

• US 20050226770A1
• Filed: 12/13/2004
• Published: 10/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biopath Automation, LLC
• Original Assignee: Biopath Automation, LLC
• Inventors: Williamson, Warren P. IV, Ward, Thomas J., DiNovo, Dominic P., Quam, Rebeccah P., Allen, Douglas P., Keller, George A., VanHoose, Ernest D., Turner, Jonathan E., Kuisick, Keith A., Hughes, Kenneth E., Robinson, Cecil R., Huddleston, Matthew J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,722,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/63
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/36 Embedding or analogous mounting of samples
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2001/366 Moulds; Demoulding
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00732 Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2525 Stabilizing or preserving
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

An automated machine for handling and embedding tissue samples contained on microtome sectionable supports. The machine includes an input member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports prior to a tissue embedding operation. An output member is configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports after the tissue embedding operation. A cooling unit is configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports during the tissue embedding operation. A motorized carrier assembly is mounted for movement and configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports. The carrier assembly moves the support from the input member to the cooling unit and, finally, to the output member. A dispensing device dispenses an embedding material onto the microtome sectionable support and at least one tissue sample carried by the microtome sectionable support during the embedding operation.

Claims

1. An automated machine for embedding tissue samples on respective microtome sectionable supports, comprising:

an input member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports prior to a tissue embedding operation;

an output member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports after the tissue embedding operation;

a plurality of cooling units each configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports during the tissue embedding operation;

a motorized carrier assembly mounted for movement and configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports and move the one support from said input member to one of said cooling units to said output member; and

a dispenser operating to dispense an embedding material respectively onto the microtome sectionable supports and at least one tissue sample carried by each of the microtome sectionable supports during the embedding operation.

2. The automated machine of claim 1, wherein each of said cooling units include at least one TEC.

3. The automated machine of claim 1, wherein the microtome sectionable support is received within a frame and is movable between a first position within the frame and a second position in which the embedded tissue sample is exposed for sectioning in a microtome, and the automated machine further comprises:

a staging device operative to move the support from the first position to the second position.

4. The automated machine of claim 3, wherein said staging device and said dispenser are movable together between the plurality of cooling units.

5. The automated machine of claim 1, further comprising:

a sensor operative to detect an amount of the embedding material dispensed onto the microtome sectionable support by said dispenser.

6. The automated machine of claim 2, further comprising:

respective molds thermally coupled to each TEC, said molds configured to hold the microtome sectionable supports and the embedding material dispensed by said dispenser.

7. The automated machine of claim 1, wherein the input member comprises an elongate basket configured to hold and dispense a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports.

8. The automated machine of claim 7, wherein said elongate basket includes a dispensing opening and the machine further comprises:

a positioning device configured to urge the microtome sectionable supports toward said dispensing opening.

9. The automated machine of claim 1, further comprising a heater thermally coupled to said input member for heating the microtome sectionable supports.

10. The automated machine of claim 1, wherein at least two different configurations of microtome sectionable supports may be handled and embedded in the machine and the machine further comprises:

a first mold and a second mold thermally coupled with each cooling unit, said first mold being configured to receive a first microtome sectionable support and said second mold being configured to receive a second microtome sectionable support having a configuration different than the first microtome sectionable support; and

a sensor operative to detect the respective configurations of the first and second microtome sectionable support;

wherein said carrier assembly transports one of the microtome sectionable supports to either said first mold or said second mold depending on the configuration of the microtome sectionable support detected by said sensor.

11. The automated machine of claim 1, wherein the embedding material comprises paraffin, and the machine further comprises:

a reservoir coupled in fluid communication with said dispenser and configured to hold and heat the paraffin in a liquified form.

12. The automated machine of claim 1, wherein said carrier further comprises a pair of fingers configured to grip opposite sides of one of the microtome sectionable supports.

13. The automated machine of claim 1, further comprising:

a cabinet structure having an interior containing said cooling units, said motorized carrier assembly and said dispenser,

wherein said input member and said output member may be opened from outside said cabinet structure to allow the microtome sectionable supports to be loaded into the input member and, after embedding of the tissue samples, unloaded from the output member.

14. The automated machine of claim 13, wherein the input member comprises a hinged door.

15. An automated machine for embedding tissue samples on respective microtome sectionable supports, comprising:

a perforate input member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports prior to a tissue embedding operation, said perforate input member further constructed for receipt in a tissue processing machine and capable of resisting degradation from procedures used to fix and process the tissue in the tissue processing machine;

an output member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports after the tissue embedding operation;

a cooling unit configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports during the tissue embedding operation;

a motorized carrier assembly mounted for movement and configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports and move the one support from said input member to said cooling unit to said output member; and

a dispenser operating to dispense an embedding material respectively onto the microtome sectionable supports and at least one tissue sample carried by each of the microtome sectionable supports during the embedding operation.

16. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein said cooling units include a TEC.

17. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein the microtome sectionable support is received within a frame and is movable between a first position within the frame and a second position in which the tissue sample is exposed for sectioning in a microtome, and the automated machine further comprises:

a staging device operative to move the support from the first position to the second position.

18. The automated machine of claim 17, wherein said staging device includes said dispenser.

19. The automated machine of claim 15, further comprising:

a sensor operative to detect an amount of the embedding material dispensed onto the microtome sectionable support by said dispenser.

20. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein the cooling unit includes a mold configured to hold the microtome sectionable support and the embedding material dispensed by said dispenser.

21. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein the input member comprises an elongate basket configured to hold and dispense a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports.

22. The automated machine of claim 21, wherein said elongate basket includes a dispensing opening and the machine further comprises:

a positioning device configured to urge the microtome sectionable supports toward said dispensing opening.

23. The automated machine of claim 15, further comprising a heater thermally coupled to said input member for heating the microtome sectionable supports.

24. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein at least two different configurations of microtome sectionable supports may be handled and embedded in the machine and the machine further comprises:

a first mold and a second mold thermally coupled with said cooling unit, said first mold being configured to receive a first microtome sectionable support and said second mold being configured to receive a second microtome sectionable support having a configuration different than the first microtome sectionable support; and

a sensor operative to detect the respective configurations of the first and second microtome sectionable supports;

wherein said carrier assembly transports one of the microtome sectionable supports to either said first mold or said second mold depending on the configuration of the microtome sectionable support detected by said sensor.

25. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein the embedding material comprises paraffin, and the machine further comprises:

a reservoir coupled in fluid communication with said dispenser and configured to hold and heat the paraffin in a liquified form.

26. The automated machine of claim 15, wherein said carrier further comprises a pair of fingers configured to grip opposite sides of one of the microtome sectionable supports.

27. The automated machine of claim 15, further comprising:

a cabinet structure having an interior containing said cooling unit, said motorized carrier assembly and said dispenser,

wherein said input member and said output member may be opened from outside said cabinet structure to allow the microtome sectionable supports to be loaded into the input member and, after embedding of the tissue samples, unloaded from the output member.

28. The automated machine of claim 27, wherein the input member comprises a hinged door.

29. An automated machine for embedding tissue samples on respective microtome sectionable supports, wherein each microtome sectionable support is received within a frame and is movable between a first position within the frame and a second position in which the tissue sample is exposed for sectioning in a microtome, the automated machine comprising:

an input member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports prior to a tissue embedding operation;

an output member configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports after the tissue embedding operation;

a plurality of TEC units each configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports during the tissue embedding operation;

a motorized carrier assembly mounted for movement and configured to hold at least one of the microtome sectionable supports and move the one microtome sectionable support from said input member to one of said cooling units to said output member; and

a staging device mounted for movement between said cooling units and including a setting head operative to move the support from the first position to the second position and a dispenser operating to dispense an embedding material respectively onto the microtome sectionable supports and at least one tissue sample carried by each of the microtome sectionable supports during the embedding operation.

30. The automated machine of claim 29, further comprising:

a sensor operative to detect an amount of the embedding material dispensed onto the microtome sectionable support.

31. The automated machine of claim 29, wherein the TEC units each further comprise a support member with a cooling plate operated by a thermal electric control, and a mold coupled to said cooling plate, said mold configured to hold the microtome sectionable support and the embedding material dispensed by said dispenser.

32. The automated machine of claim 29, wherein the input member comprises an elongate basket configured to vertically hold and dispense a stack of the microtome sectionable supports.

33. The automated machine of claim 32, wherein said elongate basket includes a dispensing opening at a lower end thereof and further comprising:

a movable member configured to urge the microtome sectionable supports toward said lower end.

34. The automated machine of claim 29, further comprising a heater thermally coupled to said input member for heating the microtome sectionable supports.

35. The automated machine of claim 29, wherein at least two different sizes of microtome sectionable supports may be handled and embedded in the machine and the machine further comprises:

a first mold and a second mold thermally coupled with each TEC unit, said first mold configured to receive a microtome sectionable support of one configuration and said second mold configured to receive a microtome sectionable support of a different configuration; and

a sensor operative to detect the configuration of the microtome sectionable support, said carrier assembly responsive to the configuration detected by said sensor to transport one of the microtome sectionable supports to either said first mold or said second mold.

36. The automated machine of claim 29, wherein the embedding material comprises paraffin, and the machine further comprises:

a reservoir coupled in fluid communication with said dispenser and configured to hold and heat the paraffin in a liquified form.

37. The automated machine of claim 29, wherein said carrier further comprises a pair of fingers configured to grip opposite sides of one of the microtome sectionable supports.

38. The automated machine of claim 29, further comprising:

a cabinet structure having an interior containing said TEC units, said motorized carrier assembly and said dispenser,

wherein said input member and said output member may be opened from outside said cabinet structure to allow the microtome sectionable supports to be loaded into the input member and, after preparation of the tissue samples, unloaded from the output member.

39. The automated machine of claim 38, wherein the input and output members each comprise hinged doors of the cabinet structure.

40. An automated method of embedding tissue samples on microtome sectionable supports, comprising:

loading a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports, each having a tissue sample thereon, into an input device,

serially unloading the microtome sectionable supports from the input device using a motorized carrier,

using the carrier to load the microtome sectionable supports into a plurality of respective molds,

introducing liquid embedding material into the respective molds,

hardening the liquid embedding material in each mold with the tissue sample and associated microtome sectionable support contained at least partially therein, and

unloading the microtome sectionable supports and embedded tissue samples from the molds.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the microtome sectionable supports further comprise first and second microtome sectionable supports having different configurations and the molds further comprise first and second molds having configurations corresponding to the first and second microtome sectionable supports, and the method further comprises:

detecting the configurations of the microtome sectionable supports as at least either the first or second microtome sectionable supports, and

loading the microtome sectionable supports into the first or second mold depending on the detected configuration.

42. The method of claim 40 further comprising:

initially heating the microtome sectionable supports in the molds prior to hardening the liquid embedding material.

43. An automated method of embedding tissue samples on microtome sectionable supports contained in frame members, comprising:

loading a plurality of the microtome sectionable supports, each having a tissue sample thereon, into an input device,

serially unloading the microtome sectionable supports from the input device using a motorized carrier,

using the carrier to load the microtome sectionable supports into a plurality of respective molds,

staging the microtome sectionable supports into the respective molds by moving each microtome sectionable support and the tissue sample contained thereon through the frame such that the tissue sample is at least partially exposed outside of the frame,

introducing liquid embedding material into the respective molds,

hardening the liquid embedding material in each mold with the tissue sample and associated microtome sectionable support contained at least partially therein, and

unloading the microtome sectionable supports and embedded tissue samples from the molds.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the microtome sectionable supports further comprise first and second microtome sectionable supports having different configurations and the molds further comprise first and second molds having configurations corresponding to the first and second microtome sectionable supports, and the method further comprises:

detecting the configurations of the microtome sectionable supports as at least either the first or second microtome sectionable supports, and

loading the microtome sectionable supports into the first or second mold depending on the detected configuration.

45. The method of claim 43 further comprising:

initially heating the microtome sectionable supports in the molds prior to hardening the liquid embedding material.

46. An automated method of embedding tissue samples on microtome sectionable cassettes contained in frame members, comprising:

loading a plurality of the microtome sectionable cassettes, each having a tissue sample contained therein, into an input device,

serially unloading the microtome sectionable cassettes from the input device using a motorized carrier,

using the carrier to load the microtome sectionable cassettes into a plurality of respective molds,

staging the microtome sectionable cassettes into the respective molds by moving each microtome sectionable cassette and the tissue sample contained therein through the frame such that the tissue sample and a portion of the cassette are at least partially exposed outside of the frame,

introducing liquid paraffin into the respective molds,

cooling the liquid paraffin in each mold with the tissue sample and associated microtome sectionable cassette contained at least partially therein, and

unloading the microtome sectionable cassettes and embedded tissue samples from the molds.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the microtome sectionable cassettes further comprise first and second microtome sectionable cassettes having different configurations and the molds further comprise first and second molds having configurations corresponding to the first and second microtome sectionable cassettes, and the method further comprises:

detecting the configurations of the microtome sectionable cassettes as at least either the first or second microtome sectionable cassettes, and

loading the microtome sectionable cassettes into the first or second mold depending on the detected configuration.

48. The method of claim 46 further comprising:

initially heating the microtome sectionable cassettes in the molds prior to hardening the liquid embedding material.

49. An automated method of embedding tissue samples on microtome sectionable cassettes contained in frame members, comprising:

loading a plurality of the microtome sectionable cassettes, each having a tissue sample contained therein, into an input device,

serially unloading the microtome sectionable cassettes from the input device using a motorized carrier,

using the carrier to load the microtome sectionable cassettes into a plurality of respective molds,

using a motorized staging device to move to the respective molds and stage the microtome sectionable cassettes into the respective molds by moving each microtome sectionable cassette and the tissue sample contained therein through the frame such that the tissue sample and a portion of the cassette are at least partially exposed outside of the frame,

introducing liquid paraffin into the respective molds,

cooling the liquid paraffin in each mold with the tissue sample and associated microtome sectionable cassette contained at least partially therein, and

unloading the microtome sectionable cassettes and embedded tissue samples from the molds into an output device configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable cassettes and embedded tissue samples.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the microtome sectionable cassettes further comprise first and second microtome sectionable cassettes having different configurations and the molds further comprise first and second molds having configurations corresponding to the first and second microtome sectionable cassettes, and the method further comprises:

detecting the configurations of the microtome sectionable cassettes as at least either the first or second microtome sectionable cassettes, and

loading the microtome sectionable cassettes into the first or second mold depending on the detected configuration.

51. The method of claim 49 further comprising:

initially heating the microtome sectionable cassettes in the molds prior to hardening the liquid embedding material.

52. An automated method of embedding tissue samples on microtome sectionable cassettes contained in frame members, comprising:

loading a plurality of the microtome sectionable cassettes, each having a tissue sample contained therein, into a perforated input basket,

serially unloading the microtome sectionable cassettes from the input basket using gripping fingers on a motorized carrier,

using the gripping fingers to load the microtome sectionable cassettes into a plurality of respective molds,

moving a motorized staging/filling device adjacent to the respective molds,

staging the microtome sectionable cassettes into the respective molds with the staging/filling device by moving each microtome sectionable cassette and the tissue sample contained therein through the frame such that the tissue sample and a portion of the cassette are at least partially exposed outside of the frame,

introducing liquid paraffin into the respective molds from the staging/filling device,

cooling the liquid paraffin in each mold with the tissue sample and associated microtome sectionable cassette contained at least partially therein, and

unloading the microtome sectionable cassettes and embedded tissue samples from the molds into an output device configured to hold a plurality of the microtome sectionable cassettes and embedded tissue samples.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the microtome sectionable cassettes further comprise first and second microtome sectionable cassettes having different configurations and the molds further comprise first and second molds having configurations corresponding to the first and second microtome sectionable cassettes, and the method further comprises:

detecting the configurations of the microtome sectionable cassettes as at least either the first or second microtome sectionable cassettes, and

loading the microtome sectionable cassettes into the first or second mold depending on the detected configuration.

54. The method of claim 52 further comprising:

initially heating the microtome sectionable cassettes in the molds prior to hardening the liquid embedding material.

55. A cassette for holding a tissue sample, comprising:

a body including a bottom wall and at least one side wall extending upwardly with respect to said bottom wall to define an interior space for receiving the tissue sample; and

a sensing element associated with said body and configured to allow an automated sensing system to determine at least one characteristic of the cassette.

56. The cassette of claim 55, wherein the sensing element further comprises one or more holes.

57. The cassette of claim 55, wherein the sensing element is machine readable.

58. The cassette of claim 55, wherein the sensing element comprises machine readable indicia.