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Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Innovation in Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Staining: Single Piece Flow IHC Slide Processing

PRESS RELEASE

The Dark Report
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, Texas 78669
512-264-7103 o
512-264-0969 f

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Ron Martin
rbmartin@darkreport.com


AUSTIN,Texas (January 30, 2012) – Many laboratory tests and procedures lend themselves to automation, but many do not. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) presents challenges typical of automating complex clinical laboratory procedures, of which about 70% of the workflow is manual. Key areas of automation are typically staining and imaging. Automated staining depends upon robotic pipetting systems, often linked to ancillary delivery systems for wash buffers and other bulk fluids. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) in partnership with Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., modified their batch IHC work cell by implementing the BenchMark ULTRA continuous slide access staining platform. They replaced the BenchMark instruments with four VENTANA BenchMark ULTRA staining platforms, which created a mix of batch (BenchMark XT instrument) and single piece flow (BenchMark ULTRA staining platform) capabilities. This eliminated the need to batch slides, resulting in maximizing run-time efficiency and instrument capacity.

The Dark Report is thrilled to offer a recently published FREE White Paper, “Innovation in Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Staining: Single Piece Flow IHC Slide Processing.” http://darkdaily.com/white-papers/innovation-in-immunohistochemistry-ihc-staining-single-piece-flow-ihc-slide-processing-11712  Published by The Dark Report www.darkreport.com and Dark Daily, darkdaily.com it is available free to laboratory professionals as a PDF download.

Along with other topics, this FREE White Paper specifically addresses:

• How the mix of IHC staining platforms within the IHC work cell delivered significant improvements to test turnaround time, extension of test ordering, and increased slide-throughput per full-time employee

• How the adapted IHC work cell incorporated Lean workflow processes to achieve efficiencies

• How the workflow plan, in conjunction with the addition of the BenchMark ULTRA platforms, reduced batching and increased the continuous flow of specimens.

• How the workflow optimization decreased IHC turnaround times

• How the results of the workflow plan allowed the laboratory to reallocate FTE time to value-added activities, resulting in significant advancements for laboratory productivity

The White Paper’s primary authors are Erika Klohe and Claudiu V. Cotta, MD, PhD. Erika Klohe is the Senior Product Manager supporting IHC and ISH staining solutions for Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. LINK. She has over ten years of experience in product development, marketing and project management. Claudiu V. Cotta, MD, PhD, is the Medical Director of the Cleveland Clinic immunohistochemistry lab. After a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at theUniversityofAlabamaatBirmingham, Dr. Cotta completed fellowships in hematopathology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Cotta’s professional interests are hematopathology, molecular pathology, and flow cytometry.

The paper’s editor, Mark Terry, is a freelance writer and editor specializing in clinical diagnostics, telemedicine, medical practice management, and biotechnology. He worked for 18 years in clinical genetics prior to turning to writing and has published over 600 magazine and trade journal articles, 15 books, and more than two dozen market research reports and white papers related to the clinical lab industry. He is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association of Genetic Technologists.

This White Paper, “Innovation in Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Staining: Single Piece Flow IHC Slide Processing,” is available for free download as a PDF at http://darkdaily.com/white-papers/innovation-in-immunohistochemistry-ihc-staining-single-piece-flow-ihc-slide-processing-11712 . It is part of the Dark Daily Resource Center, which has a growing library of White Papers and other information resources tailored specifically for the needs of laboratory administrators, lab managers, pathologists, and lab industry consultants.

For additional information, Contact: Ron Martin, 512-264-7103

About The Dark Report

Established in 1995, The Dark Report is the leading source of exclusive business intelligence for laboratory CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Pathologists and Senior industry executives. It is widely-read by leaders in laboratory medicine and diagnostics. The Dark Report produces the famous Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management every spring, which showcases innovations by the nation’s and globe’s leading laboratory organizations. Dark Daily is an Internet-based e-briefing intelligence service, read worldwide by thought leaders in laboratory and pathology management. Other well-known conferences conducted by The Dark Report are Lab Quality Confab (on the use of Lean and Six Sigma methods in labs and hospitals), Molecular Summit (on the integration of in vivo and in vitro diagnostics). The Dark Report co-produces Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine annually in the United Kingdom; Executive Edge bi-annually in Canada; and The Business of Pathology bi-annually in Australia.

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