The combined positive impact of Lean methodology and Ventana Symphony autostainer on histology lab workflow

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Histologic samples all funnel through the H&E microtomy staining area. Here manual processes intersect with semi-automated processes creating a bottleneck. We compare alternate work processes in anatomic pathology primarily in the H&E staining work cell.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We established a baseline measure of H&E process impact on personnel, information management and sample flow from historical workload and production data and direct observation. We compared this to performance after implementing initial Lean process modifications, including workstation reorganization, equipment relocation and workflow levelling, and the Ventana Symphony stainer to assess the impact on productivity in the H&E staining work cell.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Average time from gross station to assembled case decreased by 2.9 hours (12%). Total process turnaround time (TAT) exclusive of processor schedule changes decreased 48 minutes/case (4%). Mean quarterly productivity increased 8.5% with the new methods. Process redesign reduced the number of manual steps from 219 to 182, a 17% reduction. Specimen travel distance was reduced from 773 ft/case to 395 ft/case (49%) overall, and from 92 to 53 ft/case in the H&E cell (42% improvement).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Implementation of Lean methods in the H&E work cell of histology can result in improved productivity, improved through-put and case availability parameters including TAT.</p

Internal Validation of Promega's Powerplex 16 System

Condel, Kevin R., Internal Validation Study of Promega’s Powerplex 16 System. Master of Science (Forensic Genetics), August, 2005, 83 pp., 18 tables, 8 illustrations, bibliography, 14 titles. In the environment surrounding a court case, the United States Justice System requires that DNA evidence presented in a court of law be reliable, robust, and reproducible. For DNA laboratories to uphold these strict guidelines, all methods and instrumentation used in the lab must undergo validation studies. A validation study will measure the ability of the laboratory to perform a new method or use new instrumentation on a variety of samples before casework can be performed, ensuring that the method or instrumentation is indeed reliable, robust, and reproducible. This study consists of the validation of Promega’s PowerPlex 16 kit on the ABI 3100 Avant Genetic Analyzer instrumentation for Identigene, located in Houston, Texas. The validation consists of sensitivity, routine, mixture, non-probative, allelic ladder size precision, and matrix evaluations. Completion of these studies allow Identigene to begin performing casework using the PowerPlex 16 Kit. A validation study of the Takayama Reagant for Identigene was also performed. This procedure is used when a substance is presumed to be blood and the laboratory personnel want to confirm the presence of heme. The study consisted of a test determining the amount of reducing agent to add to the reagent, a dilution study, and substrate studies, and after these tests were performed indicated the ineffectiveness of the Takayama procedure for the purposes of Identigene

An Exploration of the Leadership Attributes and Methods Associated With Successful Lean System Deployments in Acute Care Hospitals

Article Abstract The lean system has been shown to be a viable and sustainable solution for the growing number of cost, quality, and efficiency issues in the health care industry. While there is a growing body of evidence to support the outcomes that can be achieved as a result of the successful application of the lean system in hospital organizations, there is not a complete understanding of the leadership attributes and methods that are necessary to achieve successful widespread mobilization and sustainment. This study was an exploration of leadership and its relevant association with successful lean system deployments in acute care hospitals. This research employed an exploratory qualitative research design encompassing a research questionnaire and telephonic interviews of 25 health care leaders in 8 hospital organizations across the United States. The results from this study identified the need to have a strong combination of personal characteristics, learned behaviors, strategies, tools, and tactics that evolved into a starting adaptable framework for health care leaders to leverage when starting their own transformational change journeys using the lean system. Health care leaders could utilize the outcomes reported in this study as a conduit to enhance the effective deployment, widespread adoption, and sustainment of the lean system in practice....https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/edd_pubs/1001/thumbnail.jp

Calorimetric Studies of the Martensitic Transformation in Ni-Mn-Ga Ferromagnetic Shape Memory Alloys

The thermal characteristics of the martensitic transformation in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys were studied using differential calorimetry in order to assess the influence of quenching and the heating rate on the resulting thermal properties. Following solution annealing at 850 °C and water quenching, sharper peaks are observed. The martensitic microstructure was observed by both optical and electron microscopy, showing typical needle like morphology and the martensitic transformation kinetics was analyzed using the Kissinger approach.</jats:p

Superelastic Behavior in NiTi Shape Memory Alloy Wires and Ribbons

Shape memory alloy ribbons in austenitic state were studied in a tensile testing machine in order to assess their superelastic behavior. They were compared with conventional materials and hair wire. The shape memoy alloy ribbon shows a particular behavior, with an ultimate tensile stress of about 1450 MPa reached at 9.5 % strain. The superelastic plateau was recorded around 590 MPa on loading and around 350 MPa on the unloading branch. Following multiple loading and unloading cycles, the superelastic behavior was not affected, nor was affected the ultimate tensile strength, that remained in the same range as for the one tested before cycling. The advantages of the superelastic ribbon compared to the ones of conventional materials are discussed. The superelastic properties of the ribbon are in the range of single crystals on what concerns the recoverable strains. This is attributed to the particular fine microstructure of the NiTi ribbon.</jats:p

A Study of Ti-Ta Library and Microstructure Manufactured by Magnetron Sputtering

Ti-Ta films were deposited out of Ti and Ta targets on glass and kapton substrates. The co-deposition leaded to the formation of a compositional spread in the Ti-Ta system, a continuous variation of the Ta/Ti ratio along the full range of the film. The typical microstructure observed for the films deposited at RT consisted of columnar grains with dotted Ta-rich particles, reflecting a relatively nonhomogenous structure. Annealing at 400 °C leaded to the individualization of grain boundaries and to a coalescence of the Ta-rich particles. Annealing at 500 °C further reduced the amount of particles, but also appeared to be associated with the cracking in the stressed area of the film/kapton structure.</jats:p