Tools for 3D Electron in Life Sciences – Generate meaningful statistics from 3DEM Data Microscopy

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a versatile method to obtain high-resolution information on the nanometer scale. While traditionally used for topography measurements, modern SEMs in biomedical research are utilized increasingly to obtain large volume data of biological samples. New developments in hardand software as well as in the electron optics enable an ever-larger range of applications. With an SEM you are not limited to grid-mounted samples and today it is possible to produce hundreds of serial sections automatically, placed them on large solid supports and investigated automatically in the SEM. Furthermore, blocks of cells or tissue can be placed and processed directly in the microscope to produce large 3D volumes of pre-selected target areas. In this talk various 3D methods will be presented and discussed. The advantages of every method will be shown elucidating the broad range of possibilities every single method will bring along. Special focus will be set on Focal Charge Compensation – a tool which extend the usability of serial block-face imaging.