PATHOLOGY SAMPLE PROCESSING WORKSTATION

• US 20110217731A1
• Filed: 05/18/2011
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mayo Foundation For Medical Education And Research (Mayo Clinic)
• Original Assignee: Mayo Foundation For Medical Education And Research (Mayo Clinic)
• Inventors: BURGART, Lawrence J., SANDERSON, Schuyler O.
• Application Number:
  US13/110,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20110217731A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/40.52
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/545 for laboratory containers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/28 Preparing specimens for investigation including physical details of (bio-)chemical methods covered elsewhere, e.g. G01N33/50, C12Qmounting specimens on microscopic slides G02B21/34; means for supporting the objects or the materials to be analysed in electron microscopes H01J37/20 ; laboratory gas handling apparatus B01L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00732 Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis

Abstract

A pathology sample processing workstation. The samples are positioned on containers having RFID tags and processed at stations having RFID transceivers coupled to a computer. Information regarding the samples can stored on the RFID tags and retrieved using the transceivers.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A method for processing pathology samples, including:

receiving a pathology sample in a first container having an information storage and retrieval device, wherein sample information about the pathology sample is stored by the information storage and retrieval device;

reading the sample information from the information storage and retrieval device on the first sample container;

placing at least a portion of the pathology sample on a second container having an information storage and retrieval device;

writing sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the second sample container;

reading the sample information from the information storage and retrieval device on the second sample container;

placing at least a portion of the pathology sample on the second container on a third container having an information storage and retrieval device; and

writing sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the third container.

20. A method for processing pathology samples using a computer system interfaced to one or more information reading and information writing devices and to a user interface, including:

receiving a pathology sample in a gross sample container having an information storage and retrieval device, wherein sample information about the pathology sample, including one or more of patient identification, sample type, requested analysis and requested processing is stored by the information storage and retrieval device;

reading the sample information from the information storage and retrieval device on the gross sample container and storing the sample information in the computer system;

placing at least a portion of the pathology sample from the gross sample container on a sample cassette having an information storage and retrieval device;

retrieving stored sample information from the computer system and writing the sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the sample cassette;

processing the pathology sample on the sample cassette;

reading and storing in the computer system sample information from the information storage and retrieval device on the sample cassette;

placing at least a portion of the pathology sample from the sample cassette on a sample slide having an information storage and retrieval device;

retrieving stored sample information from the computer system and writing the sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the sample slide;

inputting through the user interface and storing in the computer system additional sample information about the pathology sample; and

wherein, the sample information written to the information storage and retrieval device on one or both of the sample cassette and the sample slide includes sample information inputted through the user interface.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein:

inputting additional sample information through the user interface includes inputting sample information about the pathology sample on the sample cassette; and

writing sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the sample cassette includes writing sample information about the pathology sample on the sample cassette inputted through the user interface.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein:

inputting additional sample information through the user interface includes inputting sample information about the pathology sample on the sample slide; and

writing sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the sample slide includes writing sample information about the pathology sample on the sample slide inputted through the user interface.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein:

inputting additional sample information through the user interface includes inputting sample information about the pathology sample on the sample slide; and

writing sample information to the information storage and retrieval device on the sample slide includes writing sample information about the pathology sample on the sample slide inputted through the user interface.

24. The method of claim 21 and further including:

reading the sample information from the information storage and retrieval device on the sample slide; and

viewing the pathology sample on the sample slide.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein reading and writing sample information includes reading information from and writing information to RFID devices.

26. The method of claim 20 wherein processing the sample on the sample cassette includes placing the sample in a microtome.