Healthcare robotics in pathological anatomy guaranteeing traceability, security and efficiency

In pathological anatomy the loss of a sample or its incorrect storage can be critical, as the sample is often irreproducible. This can have serious implications of a diagnostic, medical-legal or ethical-professional nature, as highlighted in specific national and international regulations and guidelines on Pathological Anatomy.

• Guidelines on the Traceability, Collection, Transport, Conservation and Storage of Cells and Tissues for Pathological Anatomy Diagnostic Investigations by the Superior Health Council of the Italian Ministry of Health. May 2015
• Lott R, et al. Practical Guide to Specimen Handling in Surgical Pathology. College of American Pathologists (CAP) and National Society for Histotechnology. Revised 2022
• Guidelines for Human Biospecimen Storage, Tracking, Sharing, and Disposal within the NIH Intramural Research Program. Revised 2021.

From the moment the biological sample is collected from the patient until the time it is stored, it is essential to ensure it is handled, transported and managed in a secure and controlled way, by implementing an adequate chain of custody. This makes it possible to protect sample quality and integrity, guaranteeing total tracking (avoiding loss or identification errors), traceability and, finally, proper conservation and storage over time.

Improving compliance and and process efficiency to achieve complete tracking and traceability and to meet the needs of an increasingly complex sector – especially in the storage, conservation and retrieval phase – requires labs to adopt solutions and implement procedures that can automate and simplify manual labelling, archiving and search processes.