1. Punching
Troubles Possible causes Corrective action
Cracking of donor block 1. Punching of hard tissue(e.g.calcified tissue, uterine leiomyomas) Incubate the donor block for 5~10 minutes in a 37~0'C oven or incubator prior to punching.
2. Use of hard paraffin for the donor block
3. Penetration of the needle through the donor block cassette due to excessive pressure exertion during punching. Be cautious not to penetrate the donor block cassette with the needle during punching.
4. Swaying of the needle during tissue extraction from the donor block. Allow only perpendicular motion of the Quick-Ray needle during punching.
Needle tip damage or wearing 1. Penetration of the needle through the donor block cassette due to excessive pressure exertion during punching. It may result in damage or wearing of the needle tip.
2. Punching of hard tissue (e.g.calcified tissue, uterine leiomyomas)
The height of tissue cores Optimal core height: 5mm, Needle depth: 5mm (Punching deeper than 5mm may damage the donor block.)
Cleaming Quick-Ray needle Wipe the paraffin residues with a dry gauze.
General precautions Do not use Quick-Ray for punching of thick paper, wood or rubber
- it may result in damage or wearing of the needle tip.


2. Arraying the tissue in the recipient block
Troubles Possible causes Corrective action
Sinking of tissue cores into the recipient block Full application of the plunger after close adhesion of the Quick-Ray needle to the Quick-Ray needle to the recipient block hole Push the cores from behind the recipient block holes using a needle probe and adjust the core height.
General precautions 1. Use the appropriate guide for 1.0mm size TMA blocks.
2. Press down the arrayed tissue cores with a flat surface, so that the core heights are the same.


3. Embedding of recipient block
Troubles Possible causes Corrective action
General precaution Place the recipient block in the embedding mold(base mold) with the cutting surface facing upwards, and then incubate for 30 minutes in a 60'C oven.


4. Cutting
Troubles Possible causes Corrective action
Cracking of TMA block Placing on a cold plate or in a freezer Incubate for 2 hours at 37~40'C
Detachment of tissue core from TMA block while cutting Insufficient embedding time of the recipient block.
Wrinkling of tissue slices Inadequate heating of the water bath Flatten any creases in cold water mixed with a small amount of alcohol, and increase the water bath temperature to 50'C.


5. Staining
Troubles Possible causes Corrective action
Recipient block residues on stained slides Residues of the recipient block may remain on stained slides. To eliminate the residues, insert the slides in boiling water for 1~2 minutes. However, the residues will not affect the staining, and are clear and invisible. Also, during immunohistochemistry, the antigen retrieval precess (microwave or autoclave) will eliminate all residues.