Fundamental study for the development of automatic fixation apparatus of cytologic smear preparation

First report On usefulness of membrane filter method

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to develop an automatic fixation apparatus for making cytologic preparations.
Study Design: A total of 78 samples of urine and 100 samples of fine needle aspiration material were simultaneously examined by the FIL CUP Super (FS) applied membrane filter method and by a general method, and compared on the basis of preservative condition, collection of cellular materials, and other features.
Results: Overall, FS preparations were better than those made using the general method in the main important characteristics. However, there were several problems with FS preparations including difficulty with mucus rich material, cellular subsidence into the hole of membrane filter with aspiration, difficulty determining the suitable cellular amount, disagreeability of the hole of membrane filter in observation, decreased background features and cytomorphological differences by the smear method.
Conclusion: In this study, we confirmed that the FS was a suitable method for making smear preparations, but still had several weak points, and there is room for improvement before the introduction of this automatic fixation apparatus.