Goblets and canisters are both components of the hierarchical storage organisation system used inside liquid nitrogen storage vessels in UK IVF laboratories, but they operate at different levels of that hierarchy and serve different organisational functions.
What a Canister Does
A canister is the larger container that hangs directly from the neck of the storage vessel or sits within a rack system. It is the primary organisational unit within the vessel. A single canister is typically assigned to a specific patient, a specific sample type, or a specific clinical group depending on the laboratory’s organisational policy.
What a Goblet Does
A goblet is the smaller container that sits within the canister and directly holds the visotubes or straws containing individual patient samples. The goblet provides the secondary level of organisation within the canister – separating different sample types, different cycle dates, or different patients depending on how the laboratory has configured its colour coding and identification system.
The Full Storage Hierarchy
The hierarchy from vessel to patient sample is: storage vessel, canister, goblet, visotube, straw or carrier device. Each level carries identification information that maps to the patient record in the laboratory’s inventory system.
Goblet and canister configuration is not a purchasing afterthought. The organisational system you choose when setting up storage determines how efficiently staff can locate and retrieve specific samples, how well it supports HFEA traceability requirements, and how much liquid nitrogen is lost per access event.
Cryolab supplies CBS goblets and canisters in multiple sizes and colours compatible with the CryoNest range, alongside visotubes and cryocanes. Contact us for configuration advice or use CryoGPT.
