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EP-4735861-A1 - HISTOPATHOLOGY CASSETTES WITH RFID TAGS

EP4735861A1EP 4735861 A1EP4735861 A1EP 4735861A1EP-4735861-A1

Abstract

There is disclosed a histopathology cassette comprising a substantially rectangular base and a perimetral sidewall extending upwardly from the base, the perimetral sidewall comprising four sidewall portions, and a radio frequency identification, RFID, tag incorporated within the perimetral sidewall, wherein the RFID tag comprises a chip element and an antenna element, and wherein the antenna element is disposed in at least three of the sidewall portions. Also disclosed is a tracking system comprising a plurality of RFID readers, and at least one histopathology cassette comprising an RFID tag. Also disclosed is a storage cabinet for storing a plurality of histopathology cassettes or slides, each comprising an RFID tag, the storage cabinet comprising at least one storage rack and an RFID reader mounted inside the storage cabinet and configured to read the RFID tags of histopathology cassettes or slides stored in the storage cabinet.

Inventors

  • RATHORE, Dildar Singh

Assignees

  • Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240624

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A histopathology cassette comprising a substantially rectangular base and a perimetral sidewall extending upwardly from the base, the perimetral sidewall comprising four sidewall portions, and a radio frequency identification, RFID, tag incorporated within the perimetral sidewall, wherein the RFID tag comprises a chip element and an antenna element, and wherein the antenna element is disposed in at least three of the sidewall portions.
  2. 2. The cassette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna element comprises first and second antenna elements extending in opposite directions from the chip element.
  3. 3. The cassette as claimed in claim 2, wherein the chip element is disposed in a first one of the four sidewall portions.
  4. 4. The cassette as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first antenna element extends from the chip element inside the first sidewall portion, along the first sidewall portion, around a first corner, and along a second sidewall portion adjoining the first sidewall portion.
  5. 5. The cassette as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the second antenna element extends from the chip element inside the first sidewall portion, along the first sidewall portion, around a second corner, and along a third sidewall portion adjoining the first sidewall portion.
  6. 6. The cassette as claimed in claim 5 depending from claim 4, wherein the third sidewall portion is opposed to the second sidewall portion.
  7. 7. The cassette as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first or second antenna element extends along substantially all of the respective second or third sidewall portion.
  8. 8. The cassette as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first or second antenna element extends along more than three quarters of the respective second or third sidewall portion.
  9. 9. The cassette as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first or second antenna element extends along more than half of the respective second or third sidewall portion.
  10. 10. The cassette as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first or second antenna element extends along more than one quarter of the respective second or third sidewall portion.
  11. 11. The cassette as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the first or second antenna element extends around a third or a fourth corner and along at least part of a fourth sidewall portion opposed to the first sidewall portion.
  12. 12. The cassette as claimed in claim 5 or 6 depending from claim 4, wherein the first antenna element extends from the second sidewall portion around a third corner and along at least part of a fourth sidewall portion opposed to the first sidewall portion, and wherein the second antenna element extends from the third sidewall portion around a fourth corner and along at least part of the fourth sidewall portion.
  13. 13. The cassette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna element comprises a single antenna element extending from the chip element.
  14. 14. The cassette as claimed in claim 13, wherein the chip element is disposed in a first one of the four sidewall portions, and wherein the antenna element extends along the first sidewall portion, around a first corner, along a second sidewall portion, around a second corner, and along a third sidewall portion.
  15. 15. The cassette as claimed in claim 13, wherein the antenna element further extends around a third corner and along a fourth sidewall portion.
  16. 16. The cassette as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the RFID tag is embedded in the perimetral sidewall.
  17. 17. The cassette as claimed in claim 16, wherein the cassette is injection moulded plastics material.
  18. 18. The cassette as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the perimetral sidewall comprises a cavity between inner and outer surfaces of the perimetral sidewall, the cavity adapted to receive the chip element and the antenna element of the RFID tag so that the antenna element can extend around the three sidewall portions.
  19. 19. The cassette as claimed in claim 18, wherein the cavity is sealed by way of at least one capping or coping element disposed on a top of the perimetral sidewall.
  20. 20. The cassette as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the base is slatted or perforated so as to allow passage of fluid therethrough.

Description

HISTOPATHOLOGY CASSETTES WITH RFID TAGS [0001] This invention relates to histopathology cassettes incorporating radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and also to a tracking system and a storage cabinet for such histopathology cassettes. BACKGROUND [0002] In the field of histopathology, it is common for tissue specimens to be taken from a patient and treated in various ways so as to preserve the tissue specimens and to prepare them in a manner that facilitates study and diagnosis. For example, a tissue specimen obtained by way of a biopsy may first undergo fixation, for example in a solution of formalin, so as to immobilise and preserve the tissue specimen in as life-like a state as possible. The fixated tissue specimen is then dehydrated, for example by replacing water in the fixated tissue specimen with ethanol, and optionally treated with further chemical solutions as required. The dehydrated, fixated tissue specimen is then embedded in a paraffin wax embedding medium and the paraffin wax embedding medium is allowed to cool and solidify, resulting in a solid wax block containing the fixated tissue specimen. Subsequently, thin sections of the embedded tissue specimen can be cut from the block using a microtome, and the thin sections of the embedded tissue specimen can be mounted on microscope slides, hereinafter histopathology slides, for examination by a medical professional. Histopathology slides can be retained for many years, as can the paraffin wax block containing the embedded tissue specimen. This allows further sections of the embedded tissue specimen to be cut at a later date for further examination. Moreover, there are stringent regulations in place regarding the proper preservation and storage of human tissue specimens, and it is important to be able to take new sections of a previously-obtained tissue specimen for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. Indeed, in some instances it may not be possible or may be undesirable to obtain a new tissue specimen from a patient, so it is important that the various tissue specimens are properly stored and easily retrievable at a later date. [0003] During various of the processing steps outlined above, a tissue specimen, whether in its fresh state, fixated state, dehydrated state or embedded state, will be contained in a specialised cassette. The cassette typically takes the form of a generally rectangular tray with a slatted or perforated base and a perimetral sidewall. A slatted or perforated lid member can be removably fitted to the top of the perimetral sidewall so as to define a parallelepiped storage volume within the cassette. A front portion of the perimetral sidewall may have a sloped outer face configured to receive a label that identifies the cassette and optionally its contents. The slatted or perforated configuration of the base and the lid member allow fluids to enter into and exit from the storage volume, thus allowing treatment of a tissue specimen held within the storage volume. [0004] Histopathology cassettes are generally provided in several different standardised sizes, adapted for different sizes of tissue specimen. The standardised sizes mean that the cassettes can easily be stored in standardised storage racks or trays, whether for temporary storage and transport, or for more permanent archive storage. The cassettes are typically made of plastics materials and may come in different colours for different types of tissue samples. The materials from which the cassettes are made need to be able to withstand harsh chemicals such as formalin and other organic solvents, as well as organic and inorganic acids and alkalis. The cassettes also need to be able to withstand heat due to molten paraffin wax and remain stable for many years. [0005] It will be appreciated that histopathology cassettes, with their tissue sample contents, will pass through a number of different processing steps in a histopathology laboratory. It is vitally important to be able to keep track of each cassette and its contents at all stages of processing, otherwise cassettes and their contents may be lost or misplaced, or a tissue sample from one patient may accidentally become associated with the medical records of a different patient, which could have disastrous consequences. [0006] Accordingly, in a histopathology laboratory, each histopathology cassette is provided with a label in the form of a 1 D or 2D barcode, as well as a human-readable identification number. The barcode needs to be scanned with a barcode scanner at each processing step so as to maintain a record of the location of the cassette and its contents, and to link diagnostic images and data obtained from the contents of the cassette with the correct patient record. [0007] Problems can arise because the label with the barcode and human-readable number may become separated from the cassette due to the various harsh chemicals that are used to treat the tissue specimen. In addition, the adhesive used to