Application of ultrasound in preparing pathological sections to reduce processing time

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Histopathology
• Ultrasound Technology

Background:

• Traditional pathological tissue processing is time-consuming, often taking up to 12 hours.
• Efficient tissue preparation is crucial for timely diagnosis and research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of low megahertz ultrasound on pathological tissue processing time.
• To determine the optimal ultrasound frequency for accelerated tissue fixation and dehydration.

Main Methods:

• Application of sub-mega and low megahertz ultrasound (US) with spatial and temporal averaged intensity (sata) up to 10 W/cm(2) during mouse tissue section preparation.
• Testing frequencies including 200 kHz, 400 kHz, 600 kHz, 800 kHz, and 1 MHz.
• Comparison of processing times with and without ultrasound application.

Main Results:

• Ultrasound application reduced tissue processing time from 12 hours to less than 30 minutes.
• The shortest processing time was achieved at an ultrasound frequency of 200 kHz.
• Proposed mechanism involves ultrasound-induced non-inertial cavitation enhancing cell membrane permeability.

Conclusions:

• Low megahertz ultrasound significantly accelerates pathological tissue processing.
• 200 kHz is identified as the optimal frequency for rapid tissue fixation and dehydration.
• Ultrasound offers a promising method for improving the efficiency of histopathological workflows.