[Histonet] EM tissue processors

[Morken, Timothy]

Thomas,

We use the RMC and the Leica TP-EM (conventional) EM tissue processors, They are similar in equipment cost and vial pricing (in fact, I believe the vials are made in the same facility) about 15K. Our consumable costs for both units (buffers, osmium, solvents, resin) comes to about $13.00 per batch, and works out to $2.57 per case (about 5 cases per day average).  We re-use the non-resin vials for a week each to save a bit. For us the equipment payback is about 166 working days (saves about 2 hours tech time per day - changing reagents manually).  

The Leica MW processor is about $50K, so the payback will be about 3.5 times longer. The reagent cost for manual vs any automated system won't be much different and are reagents are so cheap it is not a significant cost compared to labor costs.

We do mostly kidneys, but also muscle (6 cases/wk) liver, heart, blood, and some tumor. We run all samples on a 3-hour processing schedule so we can get outside cases done the same day they come in. 


Tim Morken
Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies
Department of Pathology
UC San Francisco Medical Center



-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Tom Strader
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 9:43 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] EM tissue processors

Hi,
I'm comparing operating costs relative to features/benefits of automatic EM tissue processors (e.g. Leica, RMC, Lynx,.) with or without microwave and was wondering if anyone else had already done the same. I'd like to compare total costs per specimen and relative advantages/disadvantages of each system. I'm looking at the cost of consumables, reagents and labor separately and am also interested in reliability, efficiency and ease-of-use.
I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone has information they can share.
Feel free to contact me at the address below if you have questions.
Thanks!
Best regards,
Tom
 
Thomas E. Strader, MS
Heartland Biotech | Madison, WI, USA | 608-770-7649 | <http://www.heartlandbiotech.com> www.heartlandbiotech.com tom.strader <@t> heartlandbiotech.com
 
 
 
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