The Biological Stain Commission (BSC) has been involved in the histological applications of stains since the First World War.  During this time, a group of scientists, societies and government agencies got together to form an organization to deal with the standardization of histological stains.  The Biological Stain commission was formed in 1923 from this effort.  The BSC as an organization is comprised of an online journal, an assay laboratory and a group of staining specialists in the field of chemistry and histology of stains and dyes.  The Biotechnic and Histochemistry journal has been published for almost 100 year, which has published information concerning new and improved uses for biological staining with dyes and related histochemical techniques in our peer-reviewed PubMed indexed journal.  The BSC group of specialists are well versed, educated, and published in the field of chemistry and histology of stains and dyes.

What does it mean when a histological stain is sold as certified? The Biological Stain Commission is most well-know for the BSC Assay Laboratory, which is the single source for certifications of Histological Stains throughout North America.  The process of certifying a histological stain is more involved than most realize. While the BSC Certification process has been standardized, the growth and changes in companies selling histological stains has changed drastically.  The BSC Assay Laboratory has had to change the way they monitor and track the status of a BSC Certified stain throughout its life-cycle.  Through this monitoring, the end user of these stains can be assured that the histological stain they purchased is guaranteed as BSC Certified.  Using the BSC quality system is also a great measure to peak into the quality systems of manufacturers, distributors and vendors of histological stains that laboratories use to purchase their materials from.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Bone tissue sections are used to evaluate a variety of maladies in basic science research and diagnostic orthopaedic pathology. Many Histotechnologists work with bone on a daily basis, but still lack a robust understanding of skeletal tissue biology. This workshop will cover the basics of bone biology, histologic techniques for bone, and provide a review of osteogenic immunohistochemical markers.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Current Procedural Coding (CPT) is used to transform histology laboratory work into billable reimbursement. The code is a numeric formalization of services rendered in the laboratory. The code is assigned during accession through the CPT computer dictionary incorporated in the Laboratory Information System (LIS). Although CPT coding is strictly regulated, there are situations which require understanding of CPT coding principles for discretionary applications. The goal of the workshop is that from the start of the billing process, the laboratory should be assured that its receipts from payers are not only optimal, but also secure from potential audit take-back and compliance violation.  The workshop guides on the basics of CPT coding, such as unit of services, principles of matching CPT code descriptors and clinical data, including ICD-10-CM, evaluation of the technical (TC) and professional (PC) components, modifiers, as well as adherence to the rules of binding/unbinding specimen's codes. By using the case studies method, special attention will be devoted to principles of CPT coding immunohistochemistry (IHC) cases. Intraoperative and outside consultation CPT coding, which often generate difficulties, will be discussed in detail. Specifics of gross-only, cytology and some add-ons coding situations require special attention. The workshop's participants will become familiar with how to code some dermatopathology, bone, so-called "routine" and other specimens unlisted in AMA'd CPT codebook Standard Edition and absent in the LIS's computer dictionary.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the single largest job-related injury and illness problem in the United States and account for nearly 1/3 of all occupational occurrences reported.  The field of Histology is inundated with repetitive motion activities on a daily basis and your lab environment may be a contributing factor for triggering injuries.  This workshop discusses each of the most common injuries occurring in a Histology Lab, ways to treat these injuries, and how to prevent them from occurring including an interactive session of workplace exercises.  This workshop will also focus on proper ergonomics of workstations common in the histology laboratory. A quick look into the regulations will help participants recognize improper setups and provide a starting point to organize a safe and productive working environment.   The objectives include:

Identify repetitive motion disorders, their causes, and prevention techniques
Understand proper set up and ergonomics of histology workstations.  
Learn how to formulate an ergonomics plan

With these objectives you should have increased awareness so that your lab is more efficient by not having lost time with a workplace injury.  Today’s labs are busier and more demanding than ever and we must consider making changes to provide better outcomes.  The best intentions do not mitigate loss or alleviate disaster, preparation does.  Therefore, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Chemical management is one of the most complex aspects of the Lab Safety Program. More questions are asked about this topic than any other. Get your questions answered here- learn what you need to have in place to meet OSHA and other safety regulations, and learn how to develop a CHP and how to make sure it is followed in your laboratory.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Emergence of multiplex technology in immunohistochemistry (IHC) space including immunofluorescence (IF) significantly improved the capability to detect multiple molecules simultaneously in tissues and in isolated cells. This technology enables visualization of target molecules at a higher resolution even for targets that are of low abundance. Multiplexing provides a comprehensive understanding of the presence or absence of target molecules, captures complex expression patterns of biomarkers in research and clinical specimens, offers an enhanced understanding of target marker expressions in tissues and single cells. This workshop focuses on multiplex methodology and test evaluation, development of reliable tests, data analysis, advantages and disadvantages of multiplexing in research and clinical use, and a discussion on test validation. This intermediate level interactive workshop offers an in-depth understanding of multiplexing for research and clinical applications.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Microorganisms are unique, specialized microbes that may exist in single cell form or colonies of cells. Each microorganism has a specific structure and morphology that is demonstrated with both the H and E and special stains.  Infectious diseases may include one or more microorganisms that are demonstrated with only special stains which represent "classic" staining entities and structures that are specific to certain infectious diseases. The microorganisms that will be discussed and demonstrated will include the type of fixation required, drawings and schematics to identify specific microorganisms, special techniques, some of the diseases and morphology.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Two key elements of a sustainable process improvement project are a structured approach to managing modifications to the process and a change management plan to ensure employees are going to support and comply with the revised process.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It’s transmitted through inhalation, is highly infectious and is still prevalent in many areas of the world. Leprosy is a terrible disease that has been feared since biblical times and is referred to as “Walking Death”. It causes nerve damage and muscle weakness that can lead to deformities, disabilities, crippling, blindness and isolation. It usually affects peripheral nerves causing loss of feeling in the hands, feet and eyes, making it difficult to complete daily tasks and hold a job, which in turn leaves those affected in extreme poverty. In Lalgadh, Nepal there is a very successful leprosy hospital that diagnoses over 1,200 new cases of leprosy each year and has over 12,400 leprosy patient visits annually. With this high volume of patients, they are presented with many cases all presenting a variety of symptoms. This presentation will cover the three classifications of leprosy as well as the bio-medical and social courses of the disease. The Lalgadh Leprosy Hospital and Service Center appears to manage more of both new and returning leprosy patients than any other leprosy hospital in the world. Their services go beyond treating the physical aspects of the disease. They have a holistic approach to treating both the bio-medical and social issues these patients face.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

IHC as a procedure to detect individual antibodies has been well established for many years. Even the detection of 2-3 targets has been possible using standard chromogen detection systems. The application of IF has expanded the capabilities of detecting a greater number of targets on a regular basis. Several procedures have been reported using indirectly labeled primary antibodies with fluors, or labeled with indirect reporter molecules, such as individual short DNA oligos, other molecules including biotin, digoxigenin, DNP; or other custom modifications. One of the IF methods widely used is the detection of antibody targets using the HRP / TSA-fluor system. It has advantages such as intensity and stability of the fluorescent product.  However, a big disadvantage of this system is the requirement of complete removal of the primary and secondary-HRP detection antibodies used in previous rounds of detection. This “stripping” step is typically performed with heat in a retrieval solution. Thus, successive reheating of the stained tissue can compromise its integrity and morphology. This type of detection has been successfully established for manual applications and on automated staining instruments. In this presentation, we will describe a multiplexing approach developed in our laboratory using an innovative stripping method. Our approach has enabled the multiplexing of up to 5-7 markers that can be used to assess the tumor microenvironment (TME). Antibody panels used as models included a melanoma panel: CD3, CD8, GZMB, SOX10, Melan A; colon panel: GZMB, CDX2, CD3, PanCK+ and a lung SqCC panel comprised of: p40, CK 5-6, CK7, TTF-1, Cytokeratin HMW will be discussed.  This workshop is intended for those that have experience with multiplexing techniques in their laboratories and would like to learn more about multiplex IF made easy.

CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase.