[Histonet] Automated Embedder

[Frazier, John]

Good afternoon Chris,
I am a 6 Sigma Black Belt histology consultant with Ventana/Roche. I have
visited many hospital, reference and research histology based labs over my
15 years of lab consulting and 20 years in the lab. In all those years, I
have only seen 3 labs with the auto-embedders. 2 of the 3 are back to
traditional embedding due to quality, additional time spent at grossing
(that is where the tissue is oriented in the cassette) and you are forced
to purchase Sakura cassettes. The embedding staff at all 3 sites said that
they can embed as fast with better quality. Additionally, the block cuts
differently due to the thinness of the cassette. The one remaining lab that
I know still has one is Covenant in Kentucky and Mountain View, Calf. I am
sure there are others auto-embedders out there but I see about 6 labs/month
and the auto-embedded have been out there for at least 8-9 years. The
concept sounds very Lean and is probably in the 4 sigma range for embedding
errors. Lastly, the certified PA’s in most labs are the hire paid between a
histologist and a PA. Where do you want to spend your operational dollars?
I am not for or against the product. I am just telling you what I have
seen.

John Frazier, MT(ASCP), MBA, LSSBB
Sent from my iPad

On Jul 16, 2018, at 1:45 PM, Cristi Rigazio <cls71877 at gmail.com> wrote:

Good morning fellow histo peeps!

We have been looking into the automated embedding system. The cutting room
is excited about this opportunity, but the grossing personnel have some
concerns. Is  anyone out there currently using this?  Can anyone provide
some input on tissue types, implementation, time differences in the use of
the cassette inserts, etc.,?

thanks,
Cristi