Xmatrx Infinity Doubles Productivity, Enables Eco-Friendly Operations and Offers Flexibility in Research
A need for improvement
Background
The Almazov Federal Heart, Blood and Endocrinology Center (Almazov), founded in 1980, is a leading medical institution in Russia. It consists of six research institutions: Institute of Heart and Vessels, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Institute of Endocrinology, Institute of Hematology, Institute of Perinatology and Pediatric. These institutions unite a total of 47 research divisions, laboratories, sectors and groups employing 494 scientific staff, 2000 clinical staff, 59 MDs and 129 PhDs.
Challenge
Due to manual staining processes, the center was handling approximately 5000 slides per year. However, the necessity of IHC staining for the diagnosis of various diseases increases every day. Professor Lubov Mitrofanova from the Department of Pathomorphology at Almazov explained: “Although we were always happy with the level of IHC staining, the requested amount of IHC for diagnostics is increasing. Also, our technicians were exposed to harmful carcinogenic chemicals like Xylene creating an occupational hazard. Conducting IHC was becoming challenging every day”. (Photo: Olga Beshchuk from Almazov)
Xmatrx Infinity delivers results
Solution
After a visit and consultation, BioGenex support staff quickly saw how an automated system with built-in standardized protocols and open software capable of automating any manual protocol would significantly reduce staining time while ensuring the quality. Prof. Mitrofanova stated: “The center was in search of an instrument which could perform excellent quality staining in less time. We wanted the results to be crisp, intense and reproducible, and at the same time the process should be eco-friendly to avoid occupational hazard and contamination to the environment.” In response, BioGenex installed the Xmatrx Infinity. Designed for the life sciences research and drug discovery and development, the system adapts and completely automates the manual steps. The addition of Xmatrx Infinity maintained the high quality of IHC staining and reduced total IHC staining time by more than 50%. In addition, the process became eco-friendly to the center’s histology technicians through the use of non-xylene-based products offered by BioGenex.
Almazov’s investment pays off
Benefits
Once the Xmatrx Infinity system was installed, processing time was greatly reduced and the center immediately experienced an increase in slide volume per year while maintaining a high quality of staining. “We realized it has much more potential than offered,” said Prof. Lubov Mitrofanova when speaking on the newly installed Xmatrx Infinity system. “We could now perform IHC as well as other applications like ISH with consistent and reproducible results. The technicians were also comfortable to handle the instrument due to its eco-friendly operation. Currently, we process about 10,000 slides a year, including IHC and other assays, which are double of our previous work load”.
She also commented on the simple-to-use feature of the Xmatrx systems: “The students and technicians now simply load the slides, reagents and set desired protocol, and the instrument automatically processes all the defined tasks per the protocol. This has made their research more productive and efficient”. Xmatrx Infinity is designed to be an open software system ideal for life sciences research applications (IHC, ISH, SS, multiplexing and beyond) on a single instrument. The system provides a high degree of flexibility in conducting multiple applications in parallel. “We are utilizing the instrument to its maximum potential by performing multiple assays like ISH and co-detection of multiple antigens on a single tissue, thereby saving precious patient tissue sample for further research,” said a leading pathologist at Almazov.
Final Remarks
The addition of the Xmatrx Infinity system has proven advantageous to Almazov by significantly reducing turnaround time and simultaneously preserving quality and consistency. “Xmatrx Infinity is an excellent instrument and can perform multiple assays, is eco-friendly and it has standardized our results. Now, we can get exactly the same results with all our slides,” Prof. Mitrofanova concluded.
About Xmatrx Infinity
Xmatrx Infinity is a fully automated molecular pathology workstation designed to accelerate life sciences research and drug discovery and development. The system consist of open software and platform technology that automates any slide-based staining assays (IHC, ISH, CISH, FISH, IF, SS, in situ PCR, miRNA). This truly All-in-One fully automated system (from microtome to microscope) maximizes testing capacity, minimizes hands-on time, and ensures consistent and quality results every time. The system is operated with specially formulated and optimized reagents including primary antibodies, nucleic acid probes, special stains, detection kits and consumables. Xmatrx delivers optimum performance and is cost effective for total automation. This underlies our commitment to providing flexible workflow solutions for molecular pathology laboratories of today, tomorrow and beyond.