Deanne,
When using automation, you should always keep a short supply of your most
requested reagents for manual staining on hand.
You just never know when the instrument will break down.
Automation is great in the long run, in the beginning though you may spend a
bit more than expected, just because you are trying out the correct times on
the automated stainer, and the doctors are getting used to the stain. You
should also perform parallel testing for quality assurance.
As for the Ventana, the PAS is good, so is the AFB, and GMS. The only issue I
remember is that you have to run the GMS and AFB at separate times or on
different modules. Not good if you do not have the space. Also, if you
experience a power outage or the unit goes down, you cannot just pick up an
finish by hand. The unit does not tell you where the slides are in the process
when the machine stops.
As for controls, it depends on the facility, but one per case/stain is the
usual rule. The only time that is not happening is for batch run H.Pylori.
Controls can be scarce for this stain, and running them in a batch with one
control has worked. I personally do not like that because of legalities and
personal preference. Remember the phrase "all controls are appropriate", what
if it gets hung up in another doctor's office.
Just my two cents.
Toysha N. Mayer, MBA, HT (ASCP)
Instructor
Program in Histotechnology
School of Health Professions
MD Anderson Cancer Center
(713) 563-3481
tnma...@mdanderson.org
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 14:30:14 -0600
From: "Knutson, Deanne" <dknut...@primecare.org>
Subject: [Histonet] Ventana NexES Special Stainer
To: "'histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu'"
<histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
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<1e0e2b14c709174b8ac2be0ae7f76833a2c49c8...@exchange2k7.staprimecare.org>
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We are moving our special stains bench from manual to automation with the
Ventana NexES Special Stainer.
I would be interested to hear from other Ventana users. How do you run your
controls? Do you stain a control with each stain batch? Or one a day? I
can't find any CAP standards on this.
Another question I would like to ask other Ventana users - have you experienced
any "down time" with your special stainer? Do you keep reagents handy to run
manually when you are down?
Thank you ahead of time for sharing your experiences with me!
Deanne Knutson
Anatomic Pathology Supervisor
St. Alexius Medical Center
701-530-6730
dknut...@primecare.org<mailto:dknut...@primecare.org>
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