title: A multicentre study of the precision and accuracy of the TruSlice and TruSlice Digital histological dissection devices.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Five key factors enabling a good surgical grossing technique include a flat uniformly perpendicular specimen cutting face, appropriate immobilisation of the tissue specimen during grossing, good visualisation of the cutting tissue face, sharp cutting knives and the grossing knife action. TruSlice and TruSlice Digital are new innovative tools based on a guillotine configuration. The TruSlice has plastic inserts whilst the TruSlice Digital has an electronic micrometre attached: both features enable these dissection factors to be controlled. The devices were assessed in five hospitals in the UK.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 267 fixed tissue samples from 23 tissue types were analysed, principally the breast (n = 32) skin (30), rectum (28), colon (27) and cervix (17). Precision and accuracy were evaluated by measuring the defined thickness, and the consistency of achieving the defined thickness of tissue samples taken respectively. Both parameters were expressed as a total percentage of compliance for the cohort of samples accessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, the mean (standard deviation) score for precision was 81 (11) % whilst the accuracy score was 82 (11) % (both p < 0.05, chi-squared test), although this varied with type of tissue. Accuracy and precision were strongly correlated (rp= 0.83, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TruSlice Digital devices offer an assured precision and accuracy performance which is reproducible across an assortment of tissue types. The use of a micrometre to set tissue slice thickness is innovative and should comply with laboratory accreditation requirements, alleviating concerns of how to tackle issues such as the 'measurement of uncertainty' at the grossing bench.
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Orchard
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shams
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nwokie
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Quaye
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ramji
authors.affiliation: a Viapath, St John's Institute of Dermatology , St. Thomas' Hospital , London , UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Georgaki
authors.affiliation: b Crosshouse Hospital , Kilmarnock , UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watt
authors.affiliation: b Crosshouse Hospital , Kilmarnock , UK.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: b Crosshouse Hospital , Kilmarnock , UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: b Crosshouse Hospital , Kilmarnock , UK.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: McTaggart
authors.affiliation: c Southampton General Hospital , Southampton , UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Padayachy
authors.affiliation: c Southampton General Hospital , Southampton , UK.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: c Southampton General Hospital , Southampton , UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogden
authors.affiliation: d Heartlands Hospital , Birmingham , UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.affiliation: e Wythenshawe Hospital , Manchester , UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Birchall
authors.affiliation: f Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shams
authors.affiliation: g CellPath Ltd. , Powys , UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neesam
authors.affiliation: g CellPath Ltd. , Powys , UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haine
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D004864:Equipment and Supplies / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D042282:Microdissection / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008867:Microtomy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009928:Organ Specificity; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: TruSlice; TruSlice Digital; surgical grossing