Topic > Histological Tissue Tracking - 897

Software and hardware systems are at the core of how businesses are run today. To remain influential in today's markets, companies must remain flexible and integrate technology. The consequences of failing to acquire cutting-edge technologies could spell the demise of a company as a whole. While technology remains up to date it can reduce costs and implement maximum productivity of a company, helping to ensure customer satisfaction. Business requirements, therefore, push companies to change how production and customer satisfaction are met. During the integrations of a computerized tissue tracking system needed for irreplaceable patient disease samples, a greater need was realized in the tracking implications. Previously, handwritten cassettes were used to number each cassette containing patient tissue, leaving the risk of human error and sample loss. This was pretty much processed completely manually, minus completing the data entry of patient information. For the period of the general pathology course, a general technician retrieved handwritten numbered cassettes dedicated to patients and patient tissues from a laboratory assistant. The gross technician then dissected and described the tissue, recorded by gross transcription; the tissue would then be placed individually or in multiple tissue cassettes, as needed. This process would then lead to the tissue being manually loaded into a tissue processing machine and then taken out of the machine by a histology technician. The histology technician then manually embedded each patient's dissected tissue into the wax, then placed it back into the cassette from which the tissue originally came. Once this process is complete, the tissue would then be placed in the middle of the paper and the diagnosis will be made or orders for special histology staining, referrals, or a second opinion will be added. Once the pathologist has finished the specific case, the slides are returned to a laboratory assistant and scanned back into the laboratory inventory, through the integrated system. Each scan is tracked, allowing all affected users to know where and when each slide was received at any specific site/person. This was a huge step in creating a better irreplaceable sample tracking process. More advanced technology should be implemented in the future. Allowing the scan to be tracked from the extraction technician to the fabric processing machine, this step is critical as fabric can be misplaced during this exact step. With the risk of irreplaceable tissue being lost during transport and the inability for the patient to receive a potentially life-saving diagnosis.