WO2010151761A2

WO2010151761A2 - Method for identifying and tracking tissue samples and histological preparations

Info

Publication number: WO2010151761A2
Application number: PCT/US2010/039984
Authority: WO
Inventors: Todd Hoffman; Mark Wayne Spindler
Original assignee: Cim Software Corporation
Priority date: 2009-06-26
Filing date: 2010-06-25
Publication date: 2010-12-29
Also published as: WO2010151761A3

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample before, during, and after a histological preparation. The method includes a tissue collection process followed by a tissue slide preparation process. The tissue collection process includes inputting tissue sample information into a cassette printer, printing at least some of the information onto a cassette with the cassette printer, and collecting and depositing the tissue sample into the cassette. The tissue slide preparation process includes scanning the printed information from the cassette, printing at least some of the scanned information onto slides with a slide printer, and mounting the tissue sample on the slide. The tissue slide preparation process can be performed entirely at a single workstation, and the slide printer can be dedicated to the single workstation. The method can include connecting the cassette printer and/or the slide printer to a network and retrieving and storing the tissue sample information onto a database connected to the network.

Description

METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING AND TRACKING TISSUE SAMPLES AND HISTOLOGICAL PREPARATIONS

This application is being filed on 25 June 2010, as a PCT International Patent application in the name of CIM Software Corporation, a U.S. national corporation, applicant for the designation of all countries except the US, and Todd Hoffman and Mark Wayne Spindler, both citizens of the U.S., applicants for the designation of the US only, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/220,908, filed June 26, 2009, which application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to tracking and identifying tissue samples. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to tracking tissue samples before and after histological preparation.

BACKGROUND

Histology involves microscopic analysis of tissue structure. A histological preparation starts with a specimen, that is desired to be analyzed, being acquired and placed into a specimen cassette. The specimen cassette can be provided with an identifying label or marking to identify and distinguish the specimen cassette from other specimen cassettes. Information pertaining to the specimen in the cassette is typically maintained either in a database or on a piece of paper that travels with the cassette. This information is used for varying reasons not the least of which is to identify a point of origin of the specimen. To analyze the specimen, it is typically sliced into relatively thin pieces with each piece being placed on a microscope slide. A microscope slide is generally made of glass or other transparent material having a uniform transparent surface suitable for holding the specimen so it can be analyzed by a microscope. Standard microscope slides have a nominal size that is about three inches long, one inch wide and one millimeter thick. Prior to placing the piece of the specimen on the microscope slide, the microscope slide is marked with an indicia (e.g., a number, name, or other type of indicating information) that links or ties the microscope slide to a corresponding specimen within a cassette. The indicia can be marked on the microscope slide manually or through the use of a printer. The microscope slide can be matched to the corresponding cassette by a human and distributed to a histology technician. The histology technician receives the cassette and one or more of the corresponding microscope slides to section and/or otherwise prepare the specimen in the cassette. The histology technician prepares the slide by placing a slice of the sectioned specimen on each slide. The slides can then be sent to a pathologist who analyzes and performs an examination of each piece of the specimen and records and/or otherwise processes the information from the examination. Traditionally, microscope slide printers have been used in a batch mode whereby a multitude of microscope slides for specimens from a number of patients are printed at the same microscope slide printer. The microscope slides are then sorted and manually matched to the correct specimens. For the correct diagnosis to be meaningful, it is important that the microscope slide be matched to the correct cassette containing the specimen that corresponds to the indicia on the microscope slide. To reduce the likelihood of a microscope slide being mismatched to an incorrect specimen, it is desirable for a microscope slide printer to be small enough such that its use can be dedicated to a single histology technician and used at the histology technician's workspace.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample before, during, and after a histological preparation. The method includes a tissue collection process followed by a tissue preparation process followed by a tissue analysis process. The method can also include a process to distribute the tissue sample from a tissue collection location of the tissue collection process to a tissue preparation location of the tissue preparation process. The method can also include a process to distribute one or more slides, prepared at the tissue preparation location, to a tissue analysis location of the tissue analysis process. The tissue collection process includes: inputting tissue sample information into a cassette printing system; printing cassette label information, including at least some of the tissue sample information, on a cassette with the cassette printing system; collecting the tissue sample; and, depositing the tissue sample in the cassette. The tissue preparation process includes: scanning the cassette label information on the cassette with a slide printing system; retrieving information scanned from the tissue sample information; printing slide label information, including at least some of the retrieved information, on a slide with the slide printing system; withdrawing the tissue sample from the cassette; sectioning the tissue sample and thereby producing a sectioned specimen from the tissue sample; and, mounting the sectioned specimen onto the slide.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the tissue preparation process occurs within a continuous tissue preparation work area and can be accomplished by a single histology technician while at a single workstation of the continuous tissue preparation work area. The continuous tissue preparation work area can be the histology technician's desk, laboratory bench, or other compact work area with the single workstation. The continuous tissue preparation work area can also be a laboratory room or other confined work area with multiple workstations. To allow the tissue preparation process to occur entirely within the compact work area, the slide printing system includes a compact slide printer.

The tissue analysis process can be a tissue microscopic analysis process. The tissue analysis process can also occur within the continuous tissue preparation work area. The tissue preparation process can be performed by a histology technician, and the tissue analysis process can be performed by a pathologist.

The tissue sample information can include a variety of information on the tissue sample, patient information on a patient from whom the tissue sample was extracted, surgeon information on a surgeon who extracted the tissue sample, desired information to be obtained by the tissue analysis process, etc. The patient information can include a name, a birthdate, and a patient identification number (e.g., a Social Security number).

The printing of the cassette label information on the cassette can precede the collecting of the tissue sample, or the collecting of the tissue sample can precede the printing of the cassette label information on the cassette. Likewise, the depositing of the tissue sample in the cassette can precede the printing of the cassette label information on the cassette.

The tissue collection process can occur within a continuous tissue collection work area (e.g., an operating room or an examination room). The collecting of the tissue sample can include surgically removing the tissue sample from the patient and transferring the tissue sample to the cassette.

The method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample preferably includes establishing a data connection (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus connection, an Ethernet connection, a Fire Wire connection, a Wi-Fi™ connection, a Bluetooth™ connection, etc.) between a computing device (e.g., a laptop PC, a smart phone, an iPod touch, etc.) and the cassette printing system. The tissue sample information can include manually entered tissue sample information, and the inputting of the tissue sample information can include an operator (e.g., a surgeon, a nurse, an attendant, etc.) manually entering the manually entered tissue sample information into the computing device via a computer input device (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, etc.).

The method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample preferably includes establishing a network connection (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a Wi-Fi™ connection, a Bluetooth™ connection, etc.) between the computing device and a computer network and can include transmitting at least some of the manually entered tissue sample information from the computing device to the computer network and also can include storing the at least some of the manually entered tissue sample information in a record of a database accessible by the computer network. The record of the database is preferably correlated to the cassette label information. The record of the database can be a preexisting record. The preexisting record can be a record created during a patient admission process. The record of the database can be a new record created in the database by the storing of the manually entered tissue sample information. The method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample can include connecting the slide printing system to the computer network and matching at least some of the retrieved information from the scanning of the cassette label information against the record of the database. The slide label information, printed on the slide, can be correlated to the record of the database. The inputting of the tissue sample information into the cassette printing system can include the computing device connecting to the computer network and retrieving at least some of the tissue sample information from the preexisting record of the database. The cassette label information can be in a barcode format or a portion of the cassette label information can be in the barcode format. The slide label information can be in the barcode format or a portion of the slide label information can be in the barcode format.

The computing device, including the computer input device, can be integrated into the compact slide printer and/or the compact cassette printer. A scanner can be integrated into the compact slide printer and/or the compact cassette printer. The scanner can be a handheld scanner or a scanner attached to its respective printer. The compact slide printer and/or the compact cassette printer can include network connection/interface hardware.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic of a method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 is a flowchart of the method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample of Figure 1 including a tissue sample collection process and a slide preparation process; Figure 3 is a more detailed flowchart of the tissue sample collection process of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a more detailed flowchart of the slide preparation process of Figure 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 schematically illustrates a method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample 122 before, during, and after a histological preparation. As illustrated at a flowchart at Figure 2, the method includes a tissue collection process 100 followed by a tissue preparation process 200 followed by a tissue analysis process 402. The method can also include a process 302 to distribute the tissue sample 122 from a tissue collection location 102' of the tissue collection process 100 to a tissue preparation location 202' of the tissue preparation process 200. The method can also include a process 304 to distribute one or more slides 208, prepared at the tissue preparation location 202', to a tissue analysis location 400 of the tissue analysis process 402. As illustrated at Figure 1 and at a flowchart at Figure 3, the tissue collection process 100 includes: inputting 140 tissue sample information into a cassette printing system 152; printing 142 cassette label information 110, including at least some of the tissue sample information, on a cassette 108 with the cassette printing system 152; collecting 104 the tissue sample 122; and, depositing 106 the tissue sample 122 in the cassette 108.

As illustrated at Figure 1 and at a flowchart at Figure 4, the tissue preparation process 200 includes: scanning 204 the cassette label information 110 on the cassette 108 with a slide printing system 252; retrieving 239 information scanned from the tissue sample information; printing 242 slide label information 210, including at least some of the retrieved information, on a slide 208 with the slide printing system 252; withdrawing 206 the tissue sample 122 from the cassette 108; sectioning 220 the tissue sample 122 and thereby producing a sectioned specimen 222 from the tissue sample 122; and, mounting 230 the sectioned specimen 222 onto the slide 208.

As illustrated at Figure 1, the tissue analysis process 402 includes scanning 404 the slide label information 210 on the slide 208 with a scanner 405 and loading the slide 208 into the microscope 412.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the tissue preparation process 200 occurs within a continuous tissue preparation work area 202 and can be accomplished by a single histology technician 236 while at a single workstation (e.g., the tissue preparation location 202') of the continuous tissue preparation work area 202. The single workstation of the continuous tissue preparation work area 202 can be the histology technician's desk, laboratory bench, or other compact work area with the single workstation. The continuous tissue preparation work area 202 can also be a laboratory room or other confined work area with multiple workstations. To allow the tissue preparation process to occur entirely within the compact work area, the slide printing system 252 includes a compact slide printer 252p. An example of such a compact slide printer 252p is disclosed at United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/220,816, filed on June 26, 2009, entitled "APPARATUS FOR PRINTING ONTO MICROSCOPE SLIDES FOR HISTOLOGICAL PREPARATIONS", and having Attorney Docket No. 16325.0001USP1, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The tissue analysis process 402 can be a tissue microscopic analysis process. The tissue analysis process 402 can also occur within the continuous tissue preparation work area 202. Alternatively, the tissue analysis location 400 can be separate from the continuous tissue preparation work area 202. The tissue analysis process 402 can be performed by a pathologist 436 using the microscope 412. By transmitting 439 information from the scanning 404 of the slide label information 210 to a network connection 532, a record 544 of a database 542 can be opened and displayed on a computing device 432. The database 542 can be maintained on a server 540 in a computer room. The server 540 can be connected to a computer network 502. The record 544 of the database 542 preferably is created before the tissue analysis process 402, and the pathologist 436 can therefore match the slide 208 to the record 544 by the scanning 404 of the slide label information 210. hi one embodiment, the information from the scanning 404 is transmitted 439 to the computing device 432. The computing device 432 then queries the database 542 across the computer network 502. In another embodiment, the information from the scanning 404 is transmitted 439 to the server 540 across the computer network 502. The server 540 then displays the record 544 or a portion of the record 544 on the computing device 432. The pathologist 436 can review the record 544 on the computing device 432 and can also enter 438 results from the tissue analysis process 402 into the record 544 of the database 542.

The tissue sample information can include a variety of information on the tissue sample 122, patient information on a patient 112 from whom the tissue sample 122 was extracted, surgeon information on a surgeon who extracted the tissue sample, desired information to be obtained by the tissue analysis process 402, a request for a specific type or types of test to be preformed during the tissue analysis process 402, a type or types of slide 208 to be used at the tissue preparation process 200, etc. The patient information can include a name, a birthdate, and a patient identification number (e.g., a Social Security number). At least some of the tissue sample information can be entered into the record 544 of the database 542 prior to the tissue collection process 100. For example, the record 544 can be created or added to during an office visit to a doctor, in a waiting area of a clinic, by the patient 112 on a home computer, etc. The record 544 of the database 542 can include information from or links to information from other databases. hi certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the cassette label information 110 includes an alphadecimal code. The term "alphadecimal", in the present disclosure, indicates a numbering system with digits represented by the Arabic numerals 0-9 and the Latin letters A-Z (i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C,

D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z). The alphadecimal code can be in a barcode format (e.g., a Data Matrix 2D barcode) or in a text format. A scanner 205 can be used to read and interpret the barcode format. Likewise, the scanner 205 can be used to read and interpret the text format (e.g., using Object Character Recognition software). In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the alphadecimal code can be a two digit alphadecimal number. As the multi-digit alphadecimal number is a base 36 positional numeral system, a two digit alphadecimal number can include 1,296 unique codes.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a configuration file is included in the cassette printing system 152, and a compatible configuration file is included in the slide printing system 252. The configuration files of the cassette printing system 152 and the slide printing system 252 can use the alphadecimal number to pass information from the cassette printing system 152 to the slide printing system 252. For example, a predefined two digit alphadecimal number included in the cassette label information 110 can carry information including the tissue sample type (e.g., a brain tumor sample, a liver tumor sample, etc.), the number of slides to prepare and/or print, the type of slide to use for each of the prepared and/or printed slides, the slide manufacturer, the slide printer preheat time, the slide printer post-heat time, etc. In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the cassette label information 110 is transferred from the cassette printing system 152 to the slide printing system 252 without additional information being transferred from the cassette printing system 152 to the slide printing system 252 (e.g., electronic information transferred by a network). The cassette label information 110 can be used by the slide printing system 252 to select the requested slide stored within the slide printer 252p. If the requested slide is not available within the slide printer 252p, the cassette label information 110 can be used to request a particular slide be loaded into the slide printer by the histology technician 236 or other slide printer 252p operator.

As illustrated at Figure 3, at decision point 128, the printing 142 of the cassette label information 110 on the cassette 108 can precede the collecting 104 of the tissue sample 122, or the collecting 104 of the tissue sample 122 can precede the printing 142 of the cassette label information 110 on the cassette 108. The collecting 104 of the tissue sample 122 can also occur at substantially the same time as the printing 142 of the cassette label information 110 on the cassette 108. The depositing 106 of the tissue sample 122 in the cassette 108 can precede or follow the printing 142 of the cassette label information 110 on the cassette 108.

The tissue collection process 104 can occur within a continuous tissue collection work area 102 (e.g., an operating room or an examination room). The collecting 104 of the tissue sample 122 can include surgically removing the tissue sample from the patient 112 and transferring 106 the tissue sample 122 to the cassette 108. To facilitate a compact continuous tissue collection work area (e.g., a small examination room) and/or a portable tissue collection work area (e.g. a field deployable work area), a compact cassette printer 152p including at least some of the features of the compact slide printer 252p is preferably included in the cassette printing system 152. The cassette label information 110 is printed on the cassette 108 by feeding 141 the cassette 108 into an input 152i of the printer 152p. The printer 152p then prints 142 the cassette label information 110 on the cassette 108 and ejects the cassette 108 from an output 152o of the printer 152p. The method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample 122 preferably includes establishing a data connection 160 (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus connection, an Ethernet connection, a Fire Wire connection, a Wi-Fi™ connection, a Bluetooth™ connection, etc.) between a computing device 132 (e.g., a laptop PC, a smart phone, an iPod touch, etc.) and the cassette printing system 152. The tissue sample information can include manually entered tissue sample information 138, and the inputting of the tissue sample information can include an operator 136 (e.g., a surgeon, a nurse, an operating room attendant, etc.) manually entering the manually entered tissue sample information 138 into the computing device 132 via a computer input device 134 (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, etc.). The manually entered tissue sample information 138 can include some or all of the tissue sample information, as discussed above (e.g., the type or types of slide 208 to be used at the tissue preparation process 200, etc.).

The method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample 122 preferably includes establishing a network connection 510 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a Wi-Fi™ connection, a Bluetooth™ connection, etc.) between the computing device 132 and the computer network 502 and can include transmitting at least some of the manually entered tissue sample information 138 from the computing device 132 to the computer network 502 and also can include storing the manually entered tissue sample information 138 in the record 544 of the database 542 accessible by the computer network 502. The record 544 of the database 542 is preferably correlated to the cassette label information 110. The record 544 of the database 542 can be a preexisting record (e.g., a record created during a patient admission process). The record 544 of the database 542 can be a new record created in the database 542 by the storing of the manually entered tissue sample information 138. The method of identifying and tracking the tissue sample 122 can include connecting 522 the slide printing system 252 to the computer network 502 and matching at least some of the retrieved information 239 from the scanning 204 of the cassette label information 110 against the record 544 of the database 542. The slide label information 210, printed on the slide 208, can be correlated to the record 544 of the database 542. The inputting 140 of the tissue sample information into the cassette printing system 152 can include the computing device 132 connecting to the computer network 502 and retrieving at least some of the tissue sample information from the preexisting record of the database 542. The cassette label information 110 can be in a barcode format or a portion of the cassette label information 110 can be in the barcode format. The cassette label information 110 can include some or all of the tissue sample information, or simply indicia (e.g., a number, name, or other type of indicating information) that links or ties the enclosed tissues sample 122 to the tissue sample information, the record 544 of the database 542, and/or the slide 208 or slides 208. The cassette label information 110 can be printed at a print location 116 on the cassette 108. The cassette label information 110 can be encrypted or encoded for data security purposes.

As illustrated at Figure 4, at decision point 228, the printing 242 of the slide label information 210 on the slide 208 can precede the mounting 230 of the sectioned specimen 222, or the mounting 230 of the sectioned specimen 222 can precede the printing 242 of the slide label information 210 on the slide 208. The slide label information 210 can be in the barcode format or a portion of the slide label information 210 can be in the barcode format. The slide label information 210 can include some or all of the tissue sample information, or simply indicia (e.g., a number, name, or other type of indicating information) that links or ties the specimen 222 to the tissue sample information, the record 544 of the database 542, and/or the cassette 108. The slide label information 210 can be printed at a print location on the slide 208. The slide label information 210 is printed on the slide 208 by feeding 241 the slide 208 into an input 252i of the printer 252p. The printer 252p then prints 242 the slide label information 210 on the slide 208 and ejects the slide 208 from an output 252o of the printer 252p. The slide label information 210 can be encrypted or encoded for data security purposes.

In certain embodiments, the record 544 of the database 542 is created before the slide preparation process 200, and the histology technician 236 can therefore match the cassette 108 to the record 544 by the scanning 204 of the cassette label information 110. hi one embodiment, the information from the scanning 204 is retrieved 239 across the computer network 502 to the server 540. The server 540 then queries the database 542. In another embodiment, the information from the scanning 204 is transmitted 239 to the slide printer 252p (e.g. by a data connection 240 similar to the data connection 160 discussed above). A computing device (not shown), similar to the computing devices 132 and 432, can be used to display the record 544 or a portion of the record 544 on the computing device. The histology technician 236 can then review the record 544 on the computing device and can enter information (e.g., update status information) into the record 544 of the database 542. Each user (e.g., the operator 136, the histology technician 236, the pathologist 436, etc.) of the database 542 can have unique privileges when accessing the database 542. For example, the histology technician 236 may not have permission to enter information typically entered by the pathologist 436. Privileges in interacting with the database 542 can further be determined by the scanning 204, 404 of the label information 110, 210. For example, in certain embodiments neither the histology technician 236 nor the pathologist 436 can make entries into and/or access a record of the database 542 until a corresponding label information 110, 210 has been successfully scanned 204, 404. Information stored in the record 544 of the database 542 can be encrypted or encoded for data security purposes.

The computing device 132, including the computer input device 134, can be integrated into the compact cassette printer 152p. Likewise, another computing device, including another computer input device, can be integrated into the compact slide printer 252p. The scanner 205 can be integrated into the compact slide printer 252p. Likewise, another scanner can be integrated into the compact cassette printer 152p. The scanner 205 can be a handheld scanner or a scanner attached to its respective printer. The compact slide printer 252p and/or the compact cassette printer 152p can include network connection/interface hardware. The microscope slide printer 252p and/or the cassette printer 152p preferably have a relatively small footprint so that they can readily be used at a technician's workstation. In one embodiment, the microscope slide printer 252p and the cassette printer 152p each have a footprint less than seventy square inches. The slide printer 252p can hold several different types of blank slides

208 and selectively choose the type of blank slide 208 to use depending on the tissue sample information and/or other information in the record 544 of the database 542 or the cassette label information 110. The slide printer 252p can monitor and/or inventory the types and quantities of blank slides 208 present within the slide printer 252p. For example, information included in the cassette label information 110, when scanned 204, can instruct the slide printer 252p to use a specific type of slide 208 when executing the printing 242 of the slide label information 210 on the slide 208. If the requested type of slide 208 is not available in the slide printer 252p, an error signal can be sent by the slide printer 252p to alert the histology technician 236. When the requested type of slide 208 is loaded, the printing 242 can automatically resume. The slide 208 can be manually loaded into the input 252i of the printer 252p.

A controller of the printers 152p, 252p preferably interfaces with the various active components and sensors of the printers 152p, 252p and has computing capabilities and firmware, software or hardware suitable for providing full coordination and control of the various components of the printers 152p, 252p. hi one embodiment, the control system includes a processor that interfaces with memory (e.g., read only memory and/or random access memory) and also interfaces with an input source (e.g., a touch screen, an LCD display with control buttons, a keyboard, a scanner for scanning bar code such as bar code provided on the specimen cassette 108, a keypad, a mouse, or other input device), hi certain embodiments, the control system can include a computer motherboard within the enclosure of the printers 152p, 252p that is capable of running operational software such as a Windows operating system, hi other embodiments, the printers 152p, 252p can include a processing unit within the housing of the printers 152p, 252p that can interface with an external computer (e.g., the computing device 132) via a plug. The server 540, computing devices 132, 432, the printers 152p, 252p, the scanners 205, 405, and other components of the printing systems 152, 252 can run software programs to enable the functionality described in the present disclosure.

The preceding embodiments are intended to illustrate without limitation the utility and scope of the present disclosure. While the features of the present disclosure are designed for identifying and tracking a tissue sample before, during, and after a histological preparation, it will be appreciated that features in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure can also be used to identify and track other items. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample, the method comprising: a tissue collection process followed by a tissue preparation process; the tissue collection process including: inputting tissue sample information into a cassette printing system; printing cassette label information including at least some of the tissue sample information on a cassette with the cassette printing system; collecting the tissue sample; and depositing the tissue sample in the cassette; the tissue preparation process including: scanning the cassette label information on the cassette with a slide printing system and thereby retrieving retrieved information from the tissue sample information; printing slide label information including at least some of the retrieved information on a slide with the slide printing system; withdrawing the tissue sample from the cassette; sectioning the tissue sample and thereby producing a sectioned specimen from the tissue sample; and mounting the sectioned specimen onto the slide; wherein the tissue preparation process occurs within a continuous tissue preparation work area.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a tissue distribution process that follows the tissue collection process and precedes the tissue preparation process.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising a tissue microscopic analysis process that follows the tissue preparation process.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the tissue microscopic analysis process also occurs within the continuous tissue preparation work area.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the tissue preparation process is performed by a histology technician and the tissue microscopic analysis process is performed by a pathologist.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tissue sample information includes patient information including a name, a birthdate, and a patient identification number.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the printing of the cassette label information on the cassette precedes the collecting of the tissue sample.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the collecting of the tissue sample precedes the printing of the cassette label information on the cassette.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing of the tissue sample in the cassette precedes the printing of the cassette label information on the cassette.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the tissue collection process occurs within a continuous tissue collection work area and the collecting of the tissue sample includes surgically removing the tissue sample from a patient and transferring the tissue sample to the cassette.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the continuous tissue collection work area is an operating room.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a data connection between a computing device and the cassette printing system, wherein the tissue sample information includes manually entered tissue sample information and the inputting of the tissue sample information includes an operator manually entering the manually entered tissue sample information into the computing device via a computer input device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising establishing a network connection between the computing device and a computer network, transmitting at least some of the manually entered tissue sample information from the computing device to the computer network, and storing the at least some of the manually entered tissue sample information in a record of a database accessible by the computer network, wherein the record of the database is correlated to the cassette label information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the record of the database is a preexisting record.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the record of the database is a new record created in the database by the storing of the at least some of the manually entered tissue sample information.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising connecting the slide printing system to the computer network and matching at least some of the retrieved information from the scanning of the cassette label information against the record of the database, wherein the slide label information printed on the slide is correlated to the record of the database.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a data connection between a computing device and the cassette printing system, wherein inputting the tissue sample information includes the computing device connecting to a computer network and retrieving at least some of the tissue sample information via the computer network from a preexisting record of a database accessible by the computer network.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the cassette label information is in a barcode format.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the slide label information is in a barcode format.

20. A method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample, the method comprising: a tissue collection process followed by a tissue preparation process; the tissue collection process including: inputting tissue sample information into a cassette printing system; printing at least some of the tissue sample information onto a print location on a cassette with the cassette printing system; collecting the tissue sample; and depositing the tissue sample in the cassette; the tissue preparation process including: scanning the print location of the cassette with a slide printing system and thereby retrieving retrieved information from the at least some of the tissue sample information from the print location; printing slide label information retrieved from the tissue sample information onto a slide with the slide printing system; withdrawing the tissue sample from the cassette; and mounting the tissue sample onto the slide; wherein the tissue preparation process occurs within a continuous tissue preparation work area.

21. A method of identifying and tracking a tissue sample, the method comprising: a tissue collection process followed by a tissue preparation process; the tissue collection process including: inputting tissue sample information into a cassette printing system; printing at least some of the tissue sample information onto a print location on a cassette with the cassette printing system; collecting the tissue sample; and depositing the tissue sample in the cassette; the tissue preparation process including: scanning the print location of the cassette with a slide printing system and thereby retrieving retrieved information from the at least some of the tissue sample information from the print location; printing at least some of the retrieved information onto a slide with the slide printing system; withdrawing the tissue sample from the cassette; sectioning the tissue sample and thereby producing a sectioned specimen from the tissue sample; and mounting the sectioned specimen onto the slide; wherein the tissue preparation process occurs within a continuous tissue preparation work area.