Attachment B.docx

Southern Arizona VA Health Care System

SCOPE

The SAVAHCS Histology Laboratory requires a Pathology Bone Band Saw for use by the Pathology Assistant (P.A.) when sectioning patient specimens such as bone and teeth. The primary concerns when using the Pathology Bone Saw to prepare patient specimens are the high quality required for the specimens submitted (little or no destruction of the patient tissue for the end examination by the pathologist) and the safety of the Pathology Assistant using the saw for sectioning the patient’s unfixed human samples.

The Pathology Bone Saw is specifically designed for sectioning of patient bone specimens to preserve patient tissue and reduce risk of injury to the user. The P.A. will use the diamond band saw blade to cut ultra-thin sections of bone. The large pieces of bone received by the Histology Laboratory from surgical procedures will need to be cut down to a smaller size (less than 3.0 x 2.0 x 0.2 cm) so that they can decalcify fully, process well, and fit on the glass microscope slides for staining. These smaller bone sections are placed into a decalcification solution to remove calcium and processed along with other patient tissue specimens, then placed onto glass microscope slides and stained. These stained slides are then microscopically examined by the Pathologist who will diagnose any pathologic conditions present such as cancer. This diagnosis will guide patient treatment.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS

1. Due to limited room floor space in the Histology Grossing Room Laboratory area, the pathology bone band saw must be a free-standing bench top model and have a physical maximum footprint of approximately 24” x 24”.

2. The pathology bone band saw must enable the use of a diamond saw blade which reduces the risk of injury to the user since there is no sharp edge and the blade grinds through the patient bone specimen instead of tearing the tissue.

3. The pathology bone band saw must use water cooling on the diamond saw blade which minimizes the amount of tissue that is aerosolized, and instead the specimen debris is carried away by the water on the blade and washed into the drain. Water cooling also prevents burning of the patient tissue during cutting and minimizes artifact in the cut surface of the patient specimen.

4. The pathology bone band saw must be constructed of stainless steel for ease of cleaning / disinfection and to provide the sturdiness required for allowing the diamond saw blade to make the accurate cut that is needed when handling the patient’s specimen.

5. The pathology bone band saw must have the option for equipping with splash guard cover to contain any fresh tissue debris created by the cutting of the bone.

6. The pathology bone band saw must be equipped with a laser cutting indicator to aid the user with guiding the correct sectioning of the patient’s bone specimen to preserve anatomic details such as tumors that are necessary for diagnosis.

7. The pathology bone band saw must be able to section bone and any metal devices that may be implanted in patient bone specimens without ejecting the implant or damaging the patient specimen.

8. The pathology bone band saw must have removeable worktable and housing covers so it will be easy to clean, disinfect, and maintain daily by the user.

9. The pathology bone band saw must be able to cut specimens up to 3”.

10. Must be UL certified.