Automated tape-collecting ultramicrotome for array tomography

The National Institutes of Health intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with RMC Boeckeler. The ATUMtome’s tape collection system (ATUM) was developed at Harvard University, where Professor Jeff Lichtman, MD and his team designed the instrument to collect ultrathin sections to help reconstruct the brain’s neural pathways; a precursor to one day mapping the entire human brain. The RMC ATUMtome is a unique system for collecting sections on a continuous tape. Typically, a resin-embedded specimen is used on the ultramicrotome to cut serial sections that then float on a surface of the water in the diamond knife trough. The ATUMtome moves a continuous ribbon of tape through this water trough, automatically removing the serial sections from the water surface in sequence. After the sections are collected, the tape is mounted onto a silicon wafer substrate or glass slides. The sections are now ready for imaging with a scanning electron microscope or via other microscopy techniques.