Histology department at Sunderland Royal Hospital has become the 150th customer to purchase a Tissue-Tek VIP5 vacuum infiltration processor from the UK and Ireland branch of Bayer Diagnostics
Sunderland's histology team was also one of the first to purchase the original Tissue-Tek VIP more than 20 years ago, and has remained staunchly loyal to the technology because of its outstanding reliability.
"We've looked at all the other processors on the market, but the Tissue-Tek VIP has always remained our instrument of choice", says Peter Booth, senior chief biomedical scientist in histology for City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.
"Our decision to purchase the VIP5 was based on the reliability of all the Tissue-Tek VIPs we've had before.
"We are currently running two Tissue-Tek VIP processors (one E300 and one VIP 2000), and will be retaining these alongside the VIP5 in order to cope with our growing workload which now exceeds 16,500 biopsy specimens per year".
The Tissue-Tek VIP5 has set new standards of excellence for tissue processing in terms of safety, consistency and reliability, with an array of new features designed to maximise laboratory efficiency, says Bayer.
To ensure the safety of laboratory staff, it has a fume filtration unit to prevent the escape of harmful emissions, while automated reagent handling protects against exposure to toxic chemicals.
The Tissue-Tek VIP5 can be adjusted to accommodate 300 or 150 cassettes - flexibility which allows reagent volumes to be reduced when processing smaller batches, thus keeping costs as low as possible.
The system is microprocessor controlled, allowing users to define up to 20 processing programs for the fixing, dehydration, clearing and paraffin infiltration of specimens.
There are four selectable mixing modes (including continuous mixing), and a list of up to 100 different solutions can also be user-defined.
For maximum security, use of the instrument is password-controlled.
The VIP5 is extremely easy to use, minimising the need for operator training.
Step-by-step help menus and computer assisted programming are provided to save staff time, while detailed information about processing status is available at a glance from the instrument's graphical user interface.
"The VIP5 achieves optimum tissue infiltration through the alternation of pressure and vacuum in combination with heat and agitation", explains Bayer's product manager for cellular pathology, Simon Cutts.
"This is a unique approach which ensures consistent processing for all types of tissue specimens, even when the retort is full.
"The instrument also has several built-in safeguards to protect the integrity of samples, so users need have no fears about specimens drying out.
"We are delighted that the 150th VIP5 has found its home in the laboratory of such loyal customers in Sunderland."
