With thousands of OCT tissue samples stored over the last 10 years we have mastered our record keeping capabilities which provide information about OCT blocks as they move in and out of the freezers and information regarding the consumption of the OCT tissue specimens for our internal research activities (sample usage).
Throughout the years we have learned that tracking tissue morphology is critical because we are able to determine when an OCT block is no longer useful for research. With every slice of the frozen OCT tissue block, the morphology changes and it is important to know when this block is no longer a representation of the original material that was deposited in the tissue bank.
So, the first step in this Morphology Tracking process is to cut each OCT block, stain, date and archive each stained H&E slide as it arrives in the tissue bank.
When the sample is selected for research the archived H&E slide is pulled and reviewed by a designated pathologist and areas of interested annotated.
The sample is then used for research and a second H&E section is made after all the sections for research have been obtained.
This second H&E is reviewed to insure that all areas of interest for research still remain and the tissue morphology has not changed (from its original format) due to cutting deeper into the OCT tissue block. Detailed notes are made throughout these processes, which include notes on changes observed in tumor size which may indicate that the tumor is near exhaustion.
This process is repeated each time the sample is used for research and when the section fails to be a true representation of the original OCT block, the block is marked as “exhausted” and it is no longer available for research.
With thousands of OCT tissue samples stored over the last 10 years we have mastered our record keeping capabilities which provide information about OCT blocks as they move in and out of the freezers and information regarding the consumption of the OCT tissue specimens for our internal research activities (sample usage). Throughout the years we have learned that tracking tissue morphology is critical because we are able to determine when an OCT block is no longer useful for research. With every slice of the frozen OCT tissue block, the morphology changes and it is important to know when this block is no longer a representation of the original material that was deposited in the tissue bank.
So, the first step in this Morphology Tracking process is to cut each OCT block, stain, date and archive each stained H&E slide as it arrives in the tissue bank. When the sample is selected for research the archived H&E slide is pulled and reviewed by a designated pathologist and areas of interested annotated. The sample is then used for research and a second H&E section is made after all the sections for research have been obtained. This second H&E is reviewed to insure that all areas of interest for research still remain and the tissue morphology has not changed (from its original format) due to cutting deeper into the OCT tissue block. Detailed notes are made throughout these processes, which include notes on changes observed in tumor size which may indicate that the tumor is near exhaustion. This process is repeated each time the sample is used for research and when the section fails to be a true representation of the original OCT block, the block is marked as “exhausted” and it is no longer available for research. 
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