I've used both. Agree that the Sakura's are awesome; used them for years at another institution. We currently have two of the Histostars, and we actually like the design a little better. The Histostar's hot plates are set back a little further than those on the Sakura model. In my case, this results in much fewer instances of "paraffin sleeves" on my lab coat! The remaining plastic space in front of the hot plate is a great place to align GI biopsies in your mold during orientation, or to flatten out and scrape paper wrapped cell block material. On our Histostar models (probably about 5 years old now) we don't have the ability to adjust the temperature of the cold plate. I do miss that, because we've found ours too be a little too cold, and we sometimes get cracks in our paraffin blocks (this is REALLY inconvenient on needle biopsies). I believe that on newer models, this feature has been added.
That's my two cents worth... Thanks, Brian D. Cooper, HT (ASCP)CM | Histology Supervisor Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Children's Hospital Los Angeles 4650 Sunset Blvd MS#43- Los Angeles, CA 90027 bcoo...@chla.usc.edu -----Original Message----- From: Kristyn Ferber via Histonet [mailto:histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2018 10:10 AM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] Experience (especially long term) (EXTERNAL EMAIL) Hello Histonetters! I'm looking to gather histotech's experience with Thermo Scientific's HistoStar embedding workstation. I am very familiar with Sakura and think it's top notch as far as service and support and, especially, longevity. How does everyone feel the HistoStar compares with the Tissue Tek system if you've used both? Thanks in advance! Kristyn Ferber, HTL _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of this original message. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet