Leica Mikrosysteme Gmbh

Robert Ranner

Paul Wurzinger

Andreas Loydold

Matthias Katzengruber

A microtome system for cutting sections from a specimen includes a knife including a knife edge configured to cut a section from the specimen, a knife holder, a specimen holder, an illumination, a first actor, a detector, and a controller. The knife holder and specimen holder are configured to be relatively moveable in a cutting direction. The first actor is configured to cause a rotation of the knife holder or specimen holder about an axis. The illumination is configured to illuminate a gap between a front face of the specimen and the knife edge to generate a light gap. The detector is configured to detect a geometric feature of the light gap. The controller is configured to automatically align, or provide indications to manually align, the knife edge with the front face, by controlling the first actor depending on the detected geometric feature.

Microtome system and corresponding method

The present invention relates to a method for positioning a cutting knife of a microtome or ultramicrotome equipped with motors for moving the cutting knife. The method may include determining/defining at least two segments of the cutting knife according to a division of the previously defined width of the cutting knife, selecting a segment of the cutting knife, and positioning the cutting knife in an operational position by motorized movement of the cutting knife, the selected segment of the cutting knife being positioned to cut the specimen.

Method for selecting and positioning segments of a knife edge

A deviceand a method for trimming samplesare disclosed. The deviceencompasses a knife holderand a sample holder, the knife holdercarrying at least one trimming knife. A first motorand a second motorare provided, which move the knife holderin an X-Y plane. Also provided is a control unitthat controls the motion of the knife holder. The first and the second motorare each equipped with a measurement meansthat measures the position of the knife holderin the X direction (X) and Y direction (Y).

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Vienna, Austria

Robert Ranner