Device and method for cross-referencing

Abstract

A sample, embedded in a paraffin block, is placed on a tissue cassette which carries a label which may be a bar code. When the sample is processed, the cassette is given to a microtome operator who scans the label. Scanning causes information to be displayed on a screen and the operator verifies that what is on the screen matches what was on the label. The paraffin block is then placed in a microtome chuck and sections are cut from the block. A number of slide labels related to the cassette label are printed for the sections. If the operator does not verify that the information displayed on the screen matches the information on the cassette label and/or does not place the paraffin block in the microtome chuck within an allocated time interval after scanning the cassette label, dispensing and labeling of slides and/or operation of the microtome is prevented.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An identification method comprising:
 receiving, by the computer, identification information for a tissue support;   outputting, on a screen of the computer, data related to the received identification information;   automatically verifying, by the computer, that no other tissue support is currently being identified at a particular station tied to the computer; and   processing, based on the output data, a tissue on the tissue support if no errors are detected during said verifying,   wherein the verifying comprises determining if said other tissue support is currently being identified at the particular station, and   wherein if the determining yields that said other tissue support is currently being identified at the particular station, outputting an error indicator.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particular station is a holding assembly and wherein said determining if the other tissue support is being concurrently identified comprises determining that the holding assembly holds said other tissue support that is inconsistent with the identification information currently stored in an identification computer system. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the output data comprises a number of tissue holders needed to perform the pathology tests, information specific to the tissue support, and information specific to the tissue holders. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the information specific to the tissue support comprises type of tissue, cutting instruction and grossing description, and
 wherein the information specific to the tissue holders comprises a number of tissue holders already prepared and a remaining number of tissue holders that are to be prepared, test instructions for each of the tissue holders, type of tissue holder, and type of test to perform for each respective tissue holder.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the output data comprises at least one selected from among: a number and status of related tissue supports, a type and a number of tissue pieces embedded in the tissue support, images and descriptions of the tissue provided in the tissue support, patient data, and instructions for cutting the tissue provided on the tissue support. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the output data is obtained from a remote laboratory information system or encoded along with the identification information. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 analyzing, by the computer, the received identification information and applying, by the computer, a predetermined criteria based on the analyzed identification information to determine the output data.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the output data comprises instructions for said processing, which is based on the received tissue support identification information. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification information comprises type of tissue provided on the received tissue support identification information and wherein based on the type of tissue, the output data is determined and comprises number of slices to prepare from the tissue provided on the tissue support. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the output data further comprises the number of slices to be placed on each of a plurality of tissue holders. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising detecting the tissue support at the certain station within a predetermined period of time, wherein the processing is triggered by the detected tissue support. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the automatically verifying, by the computer, that no other tissue support is currently being identified comprises generating identification information for a plurality of tissue holders to hold the tissue by attaching the generated identification information onto each of the plurality of tissue holders. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving the tissue support in a holding assembly after performing repositioning of the tissue support,   if the tissue support is received after a predetermined period of time, re-executing the receiving of the input identification information, the outputting, and the verifying, and   if the tissue support is received within the predetermined period of time, automatically continuing processing of the tissue support without repeating said verification.   
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executed by a computer to perform the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . An identification and processing apparatus comprising:
 a reader which reads identification information for a tissue support;   a display which displays on a screen of a computer data related to the read identification information; and   a processor which verifies that no other tissue support is currently being identified at a particular station tied to the processor, and which generates identification information for a plurality of tissue holders, based on the displayed data if no errors are detected during said verifying,   wherein the processor performs the verification by determining if said other tissue support is currently being identified at a particular station, and   wherein if the processor determines that said other tissue support is currently being identified at a particular station, the processor controls the display to output an error indicator.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising: a speaker which outputs acoustic notifications, wherein the processor output the error indicator to the speaker which provides an acoustic notification representing the error indicator. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the processor provides instructions for performing pathology tests on the tissue and provides instructions for holding the tissue support with the tissue in a holding assembly during processing, and
 wherein the processor further determines if the other tissue support is present in the holding assembly based on identification information currently stored in the apparatus as active.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the displayed data comprises a number of tissue holders needed to perform the pathology tests, information specific to the tissue support, and information specific to the tissue holders. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the information specific to the tissue support comprises type of tissue, cutting instruction and grossing description, and
 wherein the information specific to the tissue holders comprises a number of tissue holders already prepared and a remaining number of tissue holders that are to be prepared, test instructions for each of the tissue holders, type of tissue holder, and type of test to perform for each respective tissue holder.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the display data comprises at least one selected from among: a number and status of related tissue supports, a type and a number of tissue pieces embedded in the tissue support, images and descriptions of the tissue provided in the tissue support, patient data, and instructions for cutting the tissue provided on the tissue support. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the displayed data is obtained by the processor from a remote laboratory information system or encoded along with the identification information. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 analyzing, by the processor, the received tissue support identification information and applying, by the processor, a predetermined criteria based on the analyzed received tissue support identification information to determine the displayed data.   
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the displayed data comprises instructions for processing tissue provided on the tissue support based on the received tissue support identification information. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the received tissue support identification information comprises type of tissue provided on the received tissue support identification information and wherein based on the type of tissue, the displayed data is determined and comprises number of slices to prepare from the tissue provided on the tissue support. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the displayed data further comprises the number of slices to be placed on each of a plurality of tissue holders. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising a sensor which detects that the tissue support is in a holding assembly within a predetermined period of time, wherein further processing of a tissue is triggered by the tissue support detected by the sensor. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the processor prepares instructions to attach the identification information to each of a plurality of tissue holders;   the processor prepares instructions to cut the tissue provided on the tissue support into a plurality of slices,   the processor prepares instructions to receive at least two of the plurality of slices placed onto respective prepared tissue holders, and   the processor prepares instructions to perform a respective pathology test on each of the received slices.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 a sensor which detects the tissue support in a holding assembly after performing repositioning of the tissue support,   wherein if the tissue support is received after a predetermined period of time, re-executing the receiving of the input identification information, the outputting, and the verifying, and   wherein if the tissue support is received within the predetermined period of time, the processor automatically continues processing of the tissue support without repeating said verification.