Patent ID: 8530808

Claim:
Apparatus comprising: a specimen vessel holding at least one biological tissue sample; a histological agent in the specimen vessel so as to come into contact with the tissue sample; and a microwave susceptor in, near, or integral to the specimen vessel, the microwave susceptor comprising a susceptor material configured and positioned in relation to the biological tissue sample so as to both absorb and attenuate given microwave field energy at a solid portion of the susceptor material as a result of the given microwave field energy passing through the solid portion of the susceptor material itself, an exiting and non-absorbed portion of the attenuated given microwave field energy having passed through the solid portion of the susceptor material itself acting on a target in the specimen vessel when the specimen vessel is placed within a reaction chamber of a microwave unit, wherein the susceptor material is further configured to convert the absorbed microwave field energy into heat, thereby causing the solid portion to increase in temperature and thereby causing other substances in the vessel to heat up.