MEDITE TST 44 TISSUE STAINER
For many years slide stainers have always only been considered for their ability
to perform the Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stain. Now there is an instrument
that will not only perform the H&E stain, but have the ability and capacity to
perform many other staining protocols at the same time.
At a minimum the TST 44 will perform a full H&E stain as well as a full cytology PAP stain. Many laboratories have these two areas in near proximity, so to have one instrument performing these stains will only simplify laboratory life. The TST 44 has the ability to stain large numbers of slides in a short period of time. An increased number reagent stations in combination with a continuous working principle achieves this high throughput
The TST 44 has 44 stations, 6 of these are water stations, along with 4 load stations, 4 unload stations and 30 staining stations. This number of stations allows for the reagents of many different staining protocols to be loaded into the staining machine. A standard H&E staining program may only require up to 13 stations. These would include two de-waxing, three re-hydrating, Haematoxylin, Eosin, blueing solution, three dehydrating and two clearing.
A cytology PAP stain may only require up to 16 solutions. This allows for two initial dehydrating solutions, three stains, Haematoxylin, OG6 and EA50, a blueing solution, two 95% alcohol washes before the OG6 and two 95% alcohol washes between the OG6 and EA50 followed by four dehydrating alcohols and two clearing solutions.
There are four unload stations and upon completion of each staining basket, an audible alarm indicates the completion of staining, as well as the indicator light on the front panel and status on the display indicating the basket is in the unloading station.
The transport head moves fast in X, Y and Z direction. A patented drip tray automatically glides under the basket between steps to prevent any contamination of reagents.
The TST 44 has 6 water wash stations. The software automatically determines in real time which water station to use. This feature contributes to the unique scheduling and high throughput achieved by the TST 44. A unique water saving feature is also present, where the software will only activate the running water during staining.