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Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a disorder affecting motile cilia. An early accurate diagnosis helps prevent lung damage and preserve lung function. To make a diagnostic assessment, one of the commonly used methods that allows for the examination of ciliary ultrastructure is transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This allows for a quantitative assessment of ciliary components to identify defects associated with PCD. Heavy metal staining is required to provide a contrast when imaging cilia in the TEM. One of the most commonly used stains is uranyl acetate (UA). UA can be applied to cellular material before embedding (en bloc), or to ultrathin sections of embedded samples (grid staining). UA is radioactive and, due to growing safety concerns and restrictions by government bodies, universities and hospitals, it is essential to find a suitable alternative. We show UA-zero (UAZ), when used en bloc, provides a high contrast and is a suitable replacement for UA. PCD diagnostic experts, having reviewed ciliary cross-sections stained with UAZ en bloc, are confident that the staining and PCD defects are readily detectable similar to samples that have been stained with UA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a disorder that affects motile cilia in the airway that are required for the removal of mucus, debris, and pathogens. It is important to diagnose PCD in early childhood to preserve lung function. The confirmation of a diagnosis relies on the assessment of ciliary ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM involves the quantitative assessment of the ciliary ultrastructure to identify PCD defects as well as abnormalities resulting from infection. Many specialist diagnostic centres still rely on physical counters to tally results and paper notes to summarise findings before transferring the results to computer databases/records. To speed up the diagnostic data collection and increase the protection of patient information, we have developed digital ciliary feature counters that conform to the PCD reporting international consensus guideline. These counters can be used on a computer or tablet, and automatically generate notes regarding sample observations. We show that the digital counters are easy to use and can generate TEM diagnostic reports that will be useful for many PCD diagnostic centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]