Microscopic precision construction of tissue array block related application data

摘要

This present invention covers novel means, devices and instruments for production of a tissue array block that is further sectioned into duplicates of tissue arrays. An integral microscope is incorporated into the instrument for viewing and examining a stained reference slide and selecting donor tissue core region(s) from the reference slide. The reference slide is held in a reference slide station that is operatively linked and indexed with a station or platform holding a source donor tissue block, which is further indexed and precisely positioned with reference to the donor needle punch for punching the donor tissue core(s). A recipient block indexed to the donor block punch is placed under the donor punch station and donor tissue cores are delivered into pre-existing hole(s) by a stylet to construct the tissue array block. The instrument includes a donor punch station, optionally a second recipient punch station, with each operable independently or removable. The present invention also provides pre-loading needles with donor tissue cores for constructing tissue array blocks in pre-gridded and pre-punched recipient block. The tissue arrays produced from the tissue array blocks made are useful for testing such freshly-made and/or archival tissue specimens in both scientific and clinical research and applications.