Full-automatic tissue wax block embedding machine

Abstract

The utility model provides a full-automatic tissue wax block embedding machine. The embedding machine is composed of a control system and two functional modules, namely a dehydration module and an embedding module. The embedding module is mainly composed of an embedding bin, a paraffin cylinder, a rotary table, an embedding box support and an embedding box. A full-automatic tissue wax block embedding machine is used, and the position of an embedding box is switched between a dehydration position and an embedding position, so that a tissue block is automatically embedded into a tissue wax block, and the tissue wax block is directly used for preparing a tissue slice. According to the technology, automation of tissue wax block embedding is achieved, standardization and quality of the pathological technology are improved, labor cost and occupational hazards in the pathological working process are reduced, and important social and economic values are achieved. The utility model provides a full-automatic tissue wax block embedding machine. The embedding machine is composed of a control system and two functional modules, namely a dehydration module and an embedding module. The embedding module is mainly composed of an embedding bin, a paraffin cylinder, a rotary table, an embedding box support and an embedding box. A full-automatic tissue wax block embedding machine is used, and the position of an embedding box is switched between a dehydration position and an embedding position, so that a tissue block is automatically embedded into a tissue wax block, and the tissue wax block is directly used for preparing a tissue slice. According to the technology, automation of tissue wax block embedding is achieved, standardization and quality of the pathological technology are improved, labor cost and occupational hazards in the pathological working process are reduced, and important social and economic values are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of medical equipment, and in particular relates to a fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine and method. Background Art

[0002] Pathological diagnosis is the gold standard for clinical disease diagnosis, and it plays an important role in disease diagnosis, prognosis and treatment target detection. The tissue obtained during clinical surgery needs to go through a complex processing process and is finally prepared into tissue sections. Pathologists observe the tissue structure and cell morphology on the tissue sections under a microscope to diagnose and type the disease and use them to further detect treatment targets and prognosis indicators. The process of preparing pathological tissue sections includes complex steps such as sampling, dehydration, embedding, slicing, and staining. It is a tedious, boring, and labor-intensive task. In addition, technicians need to be exposed to a large number of toxic and harmful chemical reagents during this process, which poses a health hazard to the staff.

[0003] With the development of science and technology, automated dehydrators, staining machines and other equipment have appeared in clinical practice. The promotion and application of these automated equipment have improved the technical level and quality of pathology departments.

[0004] However, most of the work in pathology departments has not been automated and standardized, which has restricted the improvement of pathology diagnosis technology. Among them, the embedding of pathological tissue is a purely manual process. The method is to put the dehydrated tissue block into the embedding box with the target surface (containing the diseased tissue, the part that the pathologist needs to focus on) facing down according to the diagnostic needs, press and fix the tissue block while dripping liquid paraffin into the embedding box, and embed it into tissue wax blocks after the paraffin cools and solidifies, and further prepare it into tissue sections.

[0005] The embedding of tissue wax blocks is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. During this process, technicians need to be in close contact with harmful chemical reagents such as formaldehyde and xylene for a long time, which can cause harm to the body. On the other hand, during the dehydration process, the changes in the position and section direction of smaller tissue blocks make it difficult to bury the target tissue at the bottom during the manual embedding process. The tissue sections are prepared first, resulting in a lack of diseased tissue or incomplete diseased tissue on the sections, which can easily lead to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine. Summary of the invention

[0007] A fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine, characterized in that the fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine is composed of a control system and two functional modules, a dehydration module and an embedding module; the dehydration module is composed of a fixing liquid component, a dehydration liquid component and a transparent liquid component, and these components are respectively connected to the embedding bin through liquid circuits and solenoid valves; the embedding module is mainly composed of an embedding bin, a paraffin cylinder, a turntable, an embedding box holder and an embedding box, and plays a key role in the automatic embedding of tissue wax blocks; the embedding bin is located at the upper part of the equipment, the paraffin cylinder is located in the middle part, the turntable is located in the embedding bin, and after the embedding box is fixed on the embedding box holder, the embedding box holder is fixed on the turntable fixing frame; the embedding bin is provided with a turntable, a heater, a refrigerator and a sensor; the turntable is provided with a motor, a rotating shaft and a fixed The rotating shaft direction of the turntable is horizontal, the motor drives the turntable to rotate, and further drives the embedding box to rotate, so that the embedding box can automatically switch between the dehydration position and the embedding position; the embedding box holder is provided with an embedding box clamping position, and can be clamped and fixed with the fixing frame on the turntable; the embedding box is provided with an embedding box cover and a fixing pad, which can be embedded and fixed with the embedding box clamping position on the embedding box holder, and the fixing pad in the embedding box is a porous and elastic material, such as sponge, silica gel, non-woven fabric, plant fiber, and the fixing pad can be pre-fixed on the inner surface of the embedding box cover as a part of the embedding box cover, or it can exist independently; the structure in which the embedding box is embedded and fixed on the embedding holder, and the embedding box holder is clamped and fixed on the turntable fixing frame is one of the two methods of electromagnetic adsorption and mechanical clamping.

[0008] The embedding position of the embedding cassette is the position where the embedding cassette opening is upward and the opening plane is parallel to the horizontal plane; the dehydration position of the embedding cassette is the position where the opening plane of the embedding cassette forms an angle with the horizontal plane, the degree of the angle is between 0° and 180°, and 90° is the best position. When the embedding cassette is in the dehydration position, the tissue block is fixed, dehydrated and wax-impregnated, and when it is in the embedding position, the tissue wax block is embedded.

[0009] Relying on the fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine, the embedding box is automatically switched between the dehydration position and the embedding position by changing the position of the embedding box. After the tissue block is automatically dehydrated, it is automatically embedded into a tissue wax block.

[0010] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: (1) Through the fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine, an innovative technical method for automatic tissue wax block embedding is established. At present, there are no fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machines at home and abroad, and this invention fills the gap in this regard.

[0011] (2) This technology has established a method for automatically dehydrating and embedding tissue blocks by changing the position of the embedding cassette, i.e., horizontal or inclined. This technology is innovative, the method is simple, and has huge economic and social benefits.

[0012] (3) The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine realizes the automation of the important link of "embedding" in pathological diagnosis work, eliminating the need for complicated and boring manual labor and greatly reducing labor costs.

[0013] (4) The automation, standardization and high quality of pathological technical work have been achieved. The quality of cell wax blocks will no longer vary from person to person, which will improve the technical level and diagnostic quality of pathological diagnosis.

[0014] (5) When collecting samples, pathologists can fix the target surface of some small specimens (containing diseased tissue, the area that the pathologist needs to focus on) directly on the first cutting position based on the gross morphology of the specimens submitted for examination, ensuring that there is diseased tissue for diagnosis on the tissue sections, thereby improving the accuracy of diagnosis and reducing missed diagnoses and misdiagnoses.

[0015] (6) The automated equipment can automatically embed tissue wax blocks without human supervision, such as embedding at night, thus shortening the time required for the pathology department to issue reports and reducing the time patients have to wait for pathology reports.

[0016] (7) Pathology technicians no longer need to perform "embedding" work that involves close contact with toxic and hazardous reagents, thereby reducing occupational hazards and the incidence of occupational diseases. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic diagram of the structure of a fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine.

[0018] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the embedding chamber.

[0019] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the turntable structure.

[0020] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the embedding box.

[0021] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the structure of the embedding cassette holder.

[0022] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure and installation of the embedding box during use.

[0023] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the embedding cassette position structure during dehydration.

[0024] Figure 8 Flowchart of automated embedding of tissue wax blocks. Implementation

[0025] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, it should be noted that the directions or positional relationships indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inside", and "outside" are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplified description, and do not refer to or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific direction. In addition, in the description of the present invention, the terms "installation" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense.

[0026] The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments of the specification.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown, the fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine is composed of a control system 1 and two functional modules, namely a dehydration module and an embedding module. The dehydration module is composed of a fixing liquid bottle 3, a dehydration liquid bottle 4 and a transparent liquid bottle 5, and these components are connected to the embedding bin 2 through the No. 1 catheter 31 and the No. 1 solenoid valve 32, the No. 2 catheter 46 and the No. 2 solenoid valve 47, and the No. 3 catheter 53 and the No. 3 solenoid valve 54 respectively; the embedding module is mainly composed of the embedding bin 2, the paraffin cylinder 6, and the turntable 21, the embedding box bracket 23 and the embedding box 22, and plays a key role in the automatic embedding of tissue wax blocks; the embedding bin 2 is located at the upper part of the equipment, the paraffin cylinder 6 is located in the middle, and the turntable 21 is located in the embedding bin 2.

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown, the embedding chamber 2 is provided with a turntable 21 , a heater 24 , a refrigerator 25 , a liquid level sensor 27 and a temperature sensor 26 ; the turntable 21 is located in the embedding chamber 2 , the embedding box 22 is fixed on the embedding box holder 23 , and the embedding box holder 23 is fixed on the fixing frame 213 of the turntable 21 .

[0029] Figure 3 As shown, the turntable 21 is provided with a driving motor 211, a rotating shaft 212 and a fixing frame 213. The embedding box holder 23 can be engaged with the fixing frame 213 of the turntable 21. The embedding box 21 is engaged and fixed on the embedding box holder 23. The motor 211 drives the turntable 21 to rotate, so that the embedding box 22 switches between the embedding position and the dehydration position.

[0030] like Figure 4 The embedding cassette holder 23 is provided with an embedding cassette holder 231 , on which there is a magnet capable of engaging and fixing the embedding cassette 21 thereon. The embedding cassette holder 23 is a detachable structure and can be conveniently engaged and fixed to the fixing frame 213 of the turntable 21 .

[0031] like Figure 5As shown, the embedding box 22 is an inverted trapezoidal box-like structure with a larger upper part and a smaller lower part, and is provided with an embedding box cover 221 and a fixed pressing plate 222. A fixed pad 223 is arranged in the embedding box 22. The fixed pad 223 in the embedding box 22 is a porous and elastic material, such as sponge, silica gel, non-woven fabric, plant fiber; the fixed pad 223 can be pre-fixed on the inner surface of the embedding box cover 221 as a part of the embedding box cover 221, or it can exist independently.

[0032] like Figure 6 As shown, when in use, the tissue block 224 is placed in the embedding cassette 22, with the target facing downward, and the fixing pad 223 is placed above the tissue block 224, and finally the embedding cassette cover 221 is placed, and the fixing plate 222 is clamped on to form the embedding cassette 22 with the tissue block 224 installed, and the embedding cassette 22 is placed in the embedding cassette clamping position 231 of the embedding cassette holder 23, and is fixed in the embedding cassette clamping position 231. Then, the embedding cassette holder 21 with the embedded cassette 22 installed is clamped and installed on the fixing frame 213 of the turntable 21.

[0033] like Figure 7 As shown, during dehydration, the embedding box 22 is in the dehydration position, the opening plane of the embedding box 22 forms an angle with the horizontal plane, the degree of the angle is between 0° and 180°, and the angle of 90° is the best position, and the fixative, dehydrating liquid, transparent liquid and paraffin can freely enter and exit the position of the tissue block 224, and fix, dehydrate, transparent and wax-immerse the tissue block 224. When the wax-immersion is about to be completed, the motor drives the turntable 211 to rotate, and then drives the embedding box bracket 23 and the embedding box 22 to rotate, and rotates the embedding box 22 to the embedding position, at which time the opening of the embedding box 22 is upward and parallel to the horizontal plane.

[0034] like Figure 8 As shown, the process of tissue wax block embedding includes six steps: sampling, mounting, fixation, dehydration, transparency and embedding.

[0035] The technical solution of the present invention is further illustrated below by describing in detail the working process of the fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine. The working process of the fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine includes the following steps.

[0036] 1) Sampling: The pathologist cuts the tissue specimen sent for clinical examination into tissue blocks 224 of appropriate size, puts the target surface of the tissue block 224 (containing the diseased tissue, the part that the pathologist needs to focus on) downward into the embedding cassette 22, places the fixing pad 223 on the tissue block 224, and finally covers the embedding cassette cover 221 and clamps the fixing plate 222. The embedded cassette 22 with the sample taken is fixed on the embedding cassette clamping position 231 of the embedding cassette holder 21.

[0037] 2) Installation: The embedding cassette holder 23 with the embedding cassette 22 installed thereon is mounted on the turntable 21 in the embedding chamber 2 , and the embedding cassette holder 21 is snap-fitted and fixed on the fixing frame 213 of the turntable 21 .

[0038] 3) Fixation: The fixative in the fixative bottle 3 is pumped into the cavity of the embedding chamber 2 through the No. 1 electromagnetic pump 32 and the No. 1 catheter 31; then, the motor 211 drives the turntable 21 to rotate, and the embedding box 22 is rotated to the dehydration position, or the turntable 21 can be rotated continuously or intermittently to fix the tissue block 224 for 90 minutes. When the embedding box 22 is in the dehydration position (optimally at an angle of 90°), the fixative is pumped back into the fixative bottle 3.

[0039] 4) Dehydration: Dehydration liquid No. 1 41, dehydration liquid No. 2 42, dehydration liquid No. 3 43, dehydration liquid No. 44 and dehydration liquid No. 5 45 in the dehydration liquid assembly 4 are sucked into the embedding chamber 2 in sequence through the electromagnetic pump No. 2 47 and the catheter No. 2 46 to dehydrate the tissue block 224 5 times. The dehydration time of each dehydration liquid is 90 minutes. During the dehydration process, the motor 211 drives the turntable 21 to rotate, and the embedding box 22 is rotated to the dehydration position, and the turntable 21 can also be rotated continuously or intermittently. When the embedding box 22 is at the dehydration position, the dehydration liquid in the embedding chamber 2 is pumped back into the dehydration liquid bottle.

[0040] 5) Transparentization: The No. 1 transparent liquid 51 and the No. 2 transparent liquid 52 in the transparent component 5 are pumped into the embedding bin 2 respectively through the No. 3 electromagnetic pump 54 and the No. 3 catheter 53, so as to perform two transparentizations on the tissue block 224; during the transparentization process, the motor 211 drives the turntable 21 to rotate, and the embedding box 22 is rotated to the dehydration position, or the turntable 21 can be rotated continuously or intermittently, and when the embedding box 22 is at the dehydration position, the transparent liquid in the embedding bin 2 is pumped back into the transparent liquid bottle.

[0041] During the fixation, dehydration and transparency process, the No. 1 heater 25 and the temperature sensor 27 in the embedding chamber 2 are started to control the liquid temperature at 40 degrees.

[0042] 6) Embedding: The control system 1 starts the No. 1 heater 24 and the No. 2 heater 66 in the embedding chamber 2 and the paraffin tank 6, raises the temperature in the embedding chamber 2 and the paraffin tank 6 to 65°, liquefies the paraffin in the paraffin tank 6, and maintains the temperature of the embedding chamber 2 at 65°. The No. 1 paraffin 61, the No. 2 paraffin 62 and the No. 3 paraffin 63 in the paraffin module are respectively pumped into the embedding chamber 2 through the No. 6 electromagnetic pump 65 and the No. 6 catheter 64 to perform three wax immersions on the tissue block 224, each wax immersion time is 60 minutes. During the wax immersion process, the motor 211 drives the turntable 21 to rotate, rotates the embedding box 22 to the dehydration position, and allows the turntable 21 to rotate continuously or intermittently. When the embedding box 22 is at the dehydration position, the No. 1 paraffin 61 and the No. 2 paraffin 62 in the embedding chamber 2 are pumped back into the paraffin tank.

[0043] When the third wax dipping is about to end, the motor 211 drives the turntable 21 to rotate, and the embedding box 22 is rotated to the embedding position, that is, the embedding box opening is upward and parallel to the horizontal plane, and the tissue block 224 that has been dehydrated, transparent and wax-dipped in the embedding box 22 is fixed in the embedding box and immersed in paraffin, so that when the No. 3 paraffin is drained from the embedding chamber 2, the liquid paraffin in the embedding box 22 is left in the embedding box 22, and the liquid paraffin outside the embedding box 22 is drawn back into the paraffin cylinder 6; the refrigerator 25 is started to reduce the temperature in the embedding chamber 2 to 4°~20°, so that the liquid paraffin becomes solid, and the tissue block 224 is embedded in the paraffin to form a tissue wax block. The embedding box bracket 23 is taken out from the turntable 21 in the embedding chamber 2, and then the embedding box 22 on the embedding box bracket 23 is taken out. After the tissue wax block in the embedding box 22 is demoulded, it is directly installed and fixed on the slicer for slicing.

[0044] The entire process is precisely controlled by the control system 1 and tissue wax blocks are automatically prepared.

[0045] It should be noted that the above description of the specific embodiments of the present invention is only for illustrating the technical route and features of the present invention, and its purpose is to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, but the present invention is not limited to the above specific implementation methods. Any changes or modifications made within the scope of the claims of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0046] The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine consists of a control system 1 and two functional modules, a dehydration module and an embedding module. If the dehydration module and the embedding module are respectively arranged on two independent devices for implementation, the completely same technical effect can be achieved, which belongs to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fully automatic tissue wax embedding machine, characterized in that: The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine consists of a control system and two functional modules: a dehydration module and an embedding module; The dehydration module is characterized by being composed of a fixing liquid component, a dehydrating liquid component and a transparent liquid component, and these components are respectively connected to the embedding chamber through a liquid circuit and a solenoid valve; The embedding module is characterized in that it is mainly composed of an embedding chamber, a paraffin tank, a turntable, an embedding box holder and an embedding box, and plays a key role in the automatic embedding of tissue wax blocks; the embedding chamber is located at the upper part of the equipment, the paraffin tank is located in the middle part, the turntable is located in the embedding chamber, and after the embedding box is embedded and fixed on the embedding box holder, the embedding box holder is clamped and fixed on the turntable fixing frame; The embedding chamber is characterized in that the embedding chamber is provided with a turntable, a heater, a refrigerator and a sensor; The turntable is characterized by being provided with a motor, a rotating shaft and a fixing frame, the motor drives the turntable to rotate, further driving the embedding cassette to rotate, so that the embedding cassette can automatically switch between the dehydration position and the embedding position; The embedding cassette holder is characterized in that it is provided with an embedding cassette holder and can be engaged and fixed with a fixing frame on the turntable; The embedding box is characterized in that the embedding box is provided with an embedding box cover and a fixing pad, and can be engaged and fixed with the embedding box on the embedding box bracket; Relying on this fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine, by changing the angle position of the embedding box, it can automatically switch between the dehydration position and the embedding position, so that the pathological tissue can be automatically embedded into a tissue wax block after dehydration, which can be directly used to make tissue sections.

2. A fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating axis direction of the turntable is horizontal.

3. A fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The embedding position of the embedding cassette is a position where the embedding cassette opening is upward and the opening plane is parallel to the horizontal plane.

4. The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dehydration position of the embedding cassette is an angle formed between the opening plane of the embedding cassette and the horizontal plane, and the degree of the angle is between 0° and 180°.

5. The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dehydration position of the embedding cassette is when the opening plane of the embedding cassette forms an angle with the horizontal plane, and an angle of 90° is the best position.

6. The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the embedding box is in the dehydration position, the tissue block is fixed, dehydrated and wax-impregnated, and when it is in the embedding position, the tissue wax block is embedded.

7. The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The embedding cassette is fixed on the embedding support, and the embedding cassette support is fixed on the turntable fixing frame in one of two ways: electromagnetic adsorption and mechanical clamping.

8. The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixing pad in the embedding box is a porous and elastic material. The fixing pad can be pre-fixed on the inner surface of the embedding box cover as a part of the embedding box cover, or it can exist independently.

9. The fully automatic tissue wax block embedding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: Commonly used materials for fixing pads in embedding boxes are sponge, silicone, non-woven fabrics, and plant fibers.

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