Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has one of the
largest immunohistochemistry / in situ hybridization (IHC / ISH) workloads in
the United Kingdom, performing almost 120,000 IHC slides a year. The Trust has
selected
Leica Microsystems' BOND platform to provide advanced IHC
and ISH staining capabilities for cellular pathology services at its
Hammersmith, Charing Cross and St Mary's Hospital sites. These hospitals are
integrated with the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London, rated in
2011 as a top 10 global university by Times Higher Education in conjunction
with Thomson Reuters.
The Trust has
recently installed a total of 10 new Leica BOND systems, offering increased
throughput and improved staining consistency for a wide range of assays. Donna
Horncastle, Laboratory Manager for Cellular Pathology at Hammersmith Hospital,
explained: "Cellular pathology services within the Trust are split across three
separate laboratories, with each site covering a range of specialties. In order
to standardize our practices - as well as to provide a more consistent approach
to servicing and support across all laboratories - we wanted to switch to fully
automated immunostaining for both routine and research IHC and ISH. Following a
comprehensive tender process, Leica Microsystems was able to offer the best
solution for our needs, combining good staining quality with high throughput."
"Installation of the BOND instruments has gone very
smoothly in all three laboratories, with only minimal disruption to service
provision during the changeover, and we have been very impressed with the
staining quality of the platforms. These systems also offer considerable
efficiency savings - allowing staff time to be used more effectively - and we
no longer rely on batch processing of samples, therefore improving turnaround
times and streamlining our workflow."
The
Leica
BOND family has offered continued advancements to anatomical pathology
laboratories since its introduction to the IHC market. Founded on the
principles of superior detection sensitivity, workflow optimization and user
flexibility in menu adoption, the BOND family is firmly established as an
industry leading platform for immunohistochemistry. Coupled with a
comprehensive menu of Novocastra antibodies and companion diagnostic products
for HER2 IHC and HER2 FISH, the BOND systems provide the flexibility, quality
and gold standard menu option required by an academically leading facility such
as Imperial College.
Chris Rhoades, Global Product Manager - BOND
Instrumentation, commented: "We are thrilled to have been chosen by Imperial
College NHS Trust and look forward to working with them in the continued
delivery of cost-effective and efficient clinical and research services."
Leica Microsystems is
a world leader in microscopes and scientific instruments. Founded as a family
business in the nineteenth century, the company's history was marked by
unparalleled innovation on its way to becoming a global enterprise.
Its historically
close cooperation with the scientific community is the key to Leica
Microsystems' tradition of innovation, which draws on users' ideas and creates
solutions tailored to their requirements. At the global level, Leica
Microsystems is organized in four divisions, all of which are among the leaders
in their respective fields: the Life Science Division, Industry Division,
Biosystems Division and Medical Division.
Leica Microsystems'
Biosystems Division, also known as Leica Biosystems, offers histopathology
laboratories the most extensive product range with appropriate products for
each work step in histology and for a high level of productivity in the working
processes of the entire laboratory.
The company is
represented in over 100 countries with 12 manufacturing facilities in 7
countries, sales and service organizations in 19 countries and an international
network of dealers. The company is headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany.
For more information on the Leica BOND family
click here