The BenchMark Special Stains Automated Staining System is an advanced solution designed to enhance quality, workflow, and safety in anatomical pathology laboratories. Special stains play a crucial role by providing comprehensive information on morphology, tissue structure, substance accumulation, and the presence of microorganisms, surpassing H&E and IHC staining when more detailed information is needed for diagnosis.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Full Automation and Superior Staining Quality:
  • The system performs full automation from slide drying to staining, using ready-to-use reagents, which eliminates variability and ensures consistent, reproducible staining quality.
  • The staining process is flexible and customizable, allowing for optimization of assays to meet the specific needs of pathologists.
  • Applies leading-edge technology with independent heating for each slide, liquid coverslip, and vortex mixing, ensuring high staining quality on each slide at any time.
  • Liquid Coverslip: Creates a reaction chamber that covers the entire slide surface, limiting evaporation, ensuring tissue integrity, and minimizing artifacts from dried tissue.
  • Ventana Vortex technology: Ensures uniform reagent distribution and consistent staining across the entire tissue section.
• Maximizing Laboratory Performance and Productivity:
  • Full automation and minimal daily maintenance reduce manual work, freeing up personnel for higher-value tasks.
  • The ability to independently heat slides minimizes temperature-dependent batch runs, allowing for simultaneous staining of multiple different assays, thereby shortening turnaround time (TAT).
  • Barcode management allows for automatic reagent checking, ensuring sufficient supply and expiration date control.
  • The batch start setup feature allows users to schedule sample runs at desired times, including overnight runs.
  • A simple, intuitive user interface (Ventana System Software) can connect to up to eight BenchMark IHC/ISH and Special Stains devices, providing seamless integration and easy operation.
• Superior Safety for Operators and Patients:
  • The fully automated process from drying, deparaffinization to staining with ready-to-use reagent kits reduces the risk of exposure and contact with hazardous chemicals, creating a safer working environment.
  • Waste containers are equipped with liquid level sensors to prevent overflow.
  • Automatic door lock feature prevents accidental door opening during the staining process.
  • The ability to stain individual slides completely eliminates the risk of tissue and reagent cross-contamination, enhancing diagnostic reliability to deliver accurate results to the right patient at the right time.
  • The system integrates with the VENTANA VANTAGE operational solution, ensuring continuous monitoring of the sample chain.
• Comprehensive Special Stains Menu:
  • BenchMark Special Stains offers a complete and ready-to-use special stains menu, including kits like AFB, Alcian Blue, Congo Red, Giemsa, Elastic, GMS II, Gram, Iron, Jones, Mucicarmine, Reticulum II, Steiner II, Trichrome, Diastase, PAS, Alcian Blue for PAS, and Light Green for PAS.