Fixation on Histology

CellBlockistry, a term that defines the ‘the science of studying the chemistry and the art of achieving quantitatively and qualitatively improved cell-blocks from different types of specimen,” is what Clifford Chapman’s CelLock technology is based on, and is what some may say is the Tesla of cell blocking!  

You don’t have to be a car enthusiast to understand the advancements that have occurred in the automotive industry over last century. Chapman uses cars to compare the advances in cell-block procedures. In 1882 the first steam tricycle was built and became one of the first motorized vehicles. Around this same time, advances in healthcare were also taking place. The first cytologic diagnosis of cancer in a body cavity took place. Over the next 150 years, just as cars continued to advance with the addition of steering wheels, gas engines and rubber tires, so did cell-block procedures. Celloidin cell-block was prepared and sectioned using a microtome, malignant tumors were diagnosed in paraffin sections, thrombin-plasma clot was used to prepare cell-blocks and eventually the automated Cellient system was introduced.  

All of these advances have allowed us to access a new technology called CelLock, and you might say this is the Tesla of cell-blocking! This new technology allows us the opportunity to provide the best patient care possible. In a recent NSH webinar,  A Standardized Cell-Block Procedure that Increases Patient Care Quality, Chapman goes on to explain that for today’s histologist a simple diagnosis is not enough. The introduction of digital pathology and scanning analysis of the image require optimal slides. No hisotech wants to send back a slide that says ‘Cells are insufficient for diagnosis”. 

Most labs do not have a standardized procedure for processing cell-blocks. As a consultant, Chapman has witnessed the various and inconsistent procedures currently being used, which hurts patient care. From in-house methods like filter paper and sponges to commercial and automated methods, all can cause a loss of cells. CelLock is a novel cell-block procedure that has been developed which provides a standardization method for reproducibly producing cell-blocks of optimal quality.