Regardless of the type of scalpel, caution when handling them is crucial. The risk of physical injury includes not only lacerations but also the biological hazards associated with having blood-borne pathogens potentially introduced directly into the bloodstream. Following basic safety precautions can help make scalpel use and handling safer for everyone.

A characteristic that’s present in several types of laboratory equipment is rotation or spinning. And while one device may spin to effectively mix the liquid contents of a vial or test tube, another one’s spinning motion has the opposite effect. Yet they both accomplish their end goal by way of rotation. With such a dizzying topic, we want to “mix it up” a bit with a little answer and question game (a bit like another game you might be familiar with). So without further adieu, let’s play! Our category is “Things that spin.” These are all things that are found in a laboratory. Let’s start with…

Medical professionals from trainees to seasoned professionals and everyone in between will benefit from the IVIS-800, vein imager. And the patients they serve will appreciate it even more.

Medical technology, like all technology, changes at a rapid rate. What used to take a week or longer can now be done in just a day or two. And these changes include even the longest processes in the pathology lab.

When a surgical team needs a fast turnaround time from the pathologist on a fresh tissue, the lab professionals turn to frozen sectioning and the cryostat. Cryostat sectioning introduces a few more potential hazards as well as being a bit more challenging. The problems encountered with sectioning frozen samples are often different than the potential issues from handling paraffin-embedded tissues.

There’s something satisfying about being on a roll… when you’re having one of those sessions where every turn of the microtome wheel yields sheer perfection. When you’re left basking in the beauty of the ribbons you’re creating. Sadly, not every day can be filled with such utter perfection. In the histology lab, even the most experienced techs have a less-than-perfect day every now and then. What does it take to crank out beautiful ribbons at the microtome… as close to every time as possible?

Behind almost every medical test or diagnosis is a team of medical lab professionals… people who fit the description in our core value. People who go on about their day largely unseen by the very people they are committed to helping… the patients. April 21 through 27, 2019, we’ll celebrate the 44th annual Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (MLPW). MLPW is a yearly opportunity to raise awareness, appreciation, and excitement for the medical lab professionals that we all count on every day.

There’s a group of behind-the-scenes heroes in the pathology field… heroes who go unseen. Unknown to the outside world, their work plays a fundamental role in patient diagnoses. These people are the histotechnicians and histotechnologists.

In honor of Black History Month, we’d like to recognize two African Americans who were instrumental in bringing these, and many more, life-saving contributions to medical science.

What to look for in labeling automation.