Simple and reliable device designed to hold up to 24 standard cassettes for histoprocessing in a microwave. This new rack is manufactured from "PTFE" resins, and will withstand repeated exposure to fixatives, dehydrating agents, clearing agents and paraffin. It is easily cleaned in hot water. It is intended for use with a disposable tray which holds the processing chemicals.
Four processing racks and trays will fit into the EMS 9000 Microwave Processor, so that up to 96 cassettes can be processed in one run. Using this system, the histotechnologist needs to handle the individual cassettes only once, to load them into the racks. The rack is then placed into a tray containing the dehydrating medium, usually 100% ethyl alcohol, and microwaved. After dehydration, the rack containing the cassettes is transferred into a tray containing the clearing agent, usually isopropanol, and microwaved. After clearing, the rack is transferred to a tray containing liquid paraffin, and microwaved. The whole process can take as little as 25 minutes (for small specimens, such as needle biopsies). There are no hazardous chemicals needed (no xylene!).
