[Histonet] IHC stainers

[Weber, Susan (VHACLE)]

OK, So now I shall supply fuel to the fire (so to speak) and also give
my vote to Ventana! Being very new to doing IHC testing myself, I can
truly say that the Benchmark XT is very user friendly you basically set
it and forget it. The training that Ventana provided both here and in
Tucson, really gave me a great start. Yes, I know that you have a lot of
proprietary reagents, but that does give very consistent staining
quality. Yes, you can do offline dilutions if needed to set up your
protocols and yes, you must use their Prep kits for Non-Ventana
antibodies (a lot of Cell Marque antibodies are already ready for the
Ventana system and do not require Prep kits) however, being able to free
personell for other duties is worth it. Quality integrity does not vary
from tech to tech, because it is all automated! I do admit to being
ignorant of some of the other systems, but what little I know does
support the fact of its ease of use. Just my 2 cents!  
Happy New Year to ALL!!

Susan M. Weber, HT(ASCP)
Louis Stokes Cleveland  VA Medical Center
Supervisor, Histology Laboratory
(216) 791-3800 ext 6154

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Janice
Mahoney
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 11:18 AM
To: Sharon.Davis-Devine; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: Re: [Histonet] IHC stainers

Knowing this could start a histonet war I am reluctant to participate
but we use Ventana and love it.  We have several Benchmarks and one XT. 

The main reason we like Ventana is that is truly a walk away system. 
It is pretty much fool proof.  With the shortage of HT's we have found
that lab aids can do many of the tasks associated with IHC when using
the Ventana instruments.  Volume is not a problem because the runs are
relatively short and we usually do three runs on each instrument every
day, one being an overnight run.
Some of my techs and I have experience with other instruments and we
all agree that Ventana is the easiest and we get the most consistent
quality.  
I know cost is an issue for some labs, but the time it allows my Histo
techs to do things that only HT's can do makes the cost worth it.
Jan Mahoney
Omaha, NE



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