美国RMC Boeckeler超薄切片机源自1942年Boeckeler精密量具业务，专注超薄切片、组织处理、制刀及连续切片体电镜样品制备。 其技术承袭1950年代从杜邦接手的Sorvall超薄切片传统，2000年前后形成PowerTome系列。 PowerTome采用动力切割臂与数字步进，兼容玻璃刀、碳化钨刀、钻石刀，可做软硬组织、材料块面及TEM/SEM/AFM制样。 2014年起与哈佛大学Jeff Lichtman实验室推进ATUMtome自动带式连续切片，由PowerTome切树脂块，连续条带无人值守收集数千至3万+张连续超薄片，用于神经回路、阵列层析和体电子显微3D重建；切片可长期保存，后期复染、免疫金及光电关联。该方案以低丢失、可重复、大体积三维重构见长，服务于脑计划、细胞器与纳米材料研究。
The RMC Boeckeler ultramicrotome from the United States originated from Boeckeler’s precision gage business founded in 1942. It specializes in ultramicrotomy, tissue processing, knife making, and serial section sample preparation for volume electron microscopy. Its technology inherits the legacy of Sorvall ultramicrotomy acquired from DuPont back in the 1950s, and the Power Tome series took shape around 2000.
Power Tome adopts a power-driven cutting arm and digital stepping mechanism. It is compatible with glass knives, tungsten carbide knives and diamond knives, supporting block facing of soft and hard tissues as well as material specimens for TEM, SEM and AFM sample preparation.
Starting in 2014, RMC Boeckeler collaborated with the Jeff Lichtman Lab at Harvard University to develop the ATUMtome automated tape-collecting serial sectioning system. The PowerTome cuts resin blocks, while the unattended continuous tape collector harvests thousands up to more than 30,000 serial ultrathin sections. These sections are used for neural circuit mapping, array tomography and 3D reconstruction in volume electron microscopy. The collected sections can be preserved long-term for subsequent re-staining, immunogold labeling and correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM).
This solution is distinguished by low section loss, high repeatability and capability for large-volume 3D reconstruction. It serves research areas including the Brain Initiative, organelle studies and nanomaterial characterization.