During the official opening of the European Congress of Pathology on 5 September 2015 in Belgrade, Serbia, Sakura Finetek launched the Tissue-Tek® AutoTEC® a120 Automated Embedder.

The AutoTEC a120 is a second-generation, fully automated tissue embedder that eliminates the labor intensive need to manually orient and embed tissue specimens and form tissue or cell paraffin blocks. The AutoTEC technology, combined with the Paraform® Sectionable Cassette System ensure that the orientation of specimens is locked from grossing to microtomy for all routine tissue types, thereby eliminating the risk of orientation mistakes and tissue loss for increasing patient safety.

“Building upon 7 years of field experience with the first-generation AutoTEC, from which tens of millions of patients worldwide received diagnosis based on AutoTEC-produced blocks, the AutoTEC a120 is a product of customer feedback, Japanese engineering ingenuity and quality manufacturing”, said Chris Koeman, President of Sakura Finetek Europe B.V.

Enhanced features

The new AutoTEC a120 with the Paraform® Sectionable Cassettes remains the industry’s first and only fully automated embedding system. Enhanced features include the incorporation of a cassette barcode reader for LIS connectivity and traceability of specimen blocks, and the SMARTairtm a new technology to optimize block quality. A larger 15 inch touchscreen monitor and the enhanced, intuitive operating system both deliver unmatched user convenience. Based on customer feedback, the input and output doors, the paraffin reservoir and access to the base molds are redesigned providing improved ergonomics while requiring minimal user maintenance and further increasing up-time.

Increased productivity with predictable performance in TAT and block quality

When used in conjunction with the Tissue-Tek Xpress® x120 Rapid Tissue Processors the AutoTEC a120 offers a high throughput of up to 120 cassettes per hour and enables laboratories to reallocate valuable personnel now manually working at embedding stations, and to conveniently level the daily workload in a lean continuous workflow. These SMART Automation systems provide high quality and safe tissue processing, consistent clean blocks, and all important same day diagnosis.

About Sakura Finetek, Europe B.V.

With EU offices based in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, Sakura Finetek has been the global leader in fully automating pathology laboratories for over 125 years. Since 2005 Sakura Finetek with the SMART automation product line provides integrated solutions for anatomic pathology and patients through best-in-class innovation, quality and customer care. With a strategic focus on continuous innovation, the AutoTEC a120 is the next step in end-to-end automation, Sakura Finetek continues to lead the industry in the development and commercialization of automated SMART Histology instrumentation and consumables for anatomic pathology. Sakura systems dramatically increase efficiency, standardize results, and allow customers to more simply manage their daily workload while significantly impacting patient care.

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