Dear Sargent Bernard,

	I know of no cryostats that:
		section by themselves,
		clean themselves
		oil themselves
		fix themselves or
		do anything else by themselves.  

Thus, a truly user-friendly cryostat can only be inexpensive and still
functional.

I have always managed with IEC cryostats, but on two occasions, if given the
money, I would have purchased a research-grade instrument.  The reason would
have been ease of section acquisition, not user-friendliness.

Regards and thanks for serving,

TAXPAYER, Fred Monson

P.S.  I worked with a young research fellow once who used a VERY expensive
cryostat and a monoclonal Ab against a HUMAN elastin epitope to demonstrate,
unEquivocally, that the rabbit LACKED elastin.  This anecdote is presented
to advance the notion that all the user-friendly technology in the world
cannot overcome the effect of a user-UNfriendly head! 

Frederick C. Monson, PhD   
Center for Advanced Scientific Imaging
Schmucker II Science Center
West Chester University
South Church Street 
West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, 19383
Phone:  610-738-0437
FAX:  610-738-0437
fmonson@wcupa.edu
CASI URL:  http://darwin/wcupa.edu/casi/
WCUPA URL:  http://www.wcupa.edu/
Visitors URL:  http://www.wcupa.edu/_visitors/


> ----------
> From: 	Bernard Ian R SSgt
> Sent: 	Tuesday, April 23, 2002 11:39 AM
> To: 	'mward@wfubmc.edu'; histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject: 	RE: cryostat cleaning
> 
> Fellow histonetters, can anyone reccommend a user friendly cryostat I can
> use in my laboratory.
> 
> Ian R. Bernard, SSgt, USAF, AAS, HT (ASCP)
> NCOIC Histopathology/ Pathobiology Laboratory
> 59th Clinical Research Sqd / MSROP
> 1255 Wilford Hall Loop, bldg 4430
> Lackland AFB, Tx 78236-5319
> 
> Tel: 210-292-7190
> Fax: 210-292-6053
> E-mail: Ian.bernard@59mdw.whmc.af.mil
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mward@wfubmc.edu [mailto:mward@wfubmc.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 9:14 AM
> To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject: cryostat cleaning
> 
> 
> Martha Ward writes:
> 
> My thanks to everyone who responded to my question.  I got several good
> suggestions.  Let me just say that we always treat each sample as a
> biohazard.  I was just looking for a less time consuming method for
> decontamination; something that could be done without defrosting, etc.
> I appreciate everyone's input.  Thanks again!
> 
> 
>