{"id":46067,"date":"2021-12-02T12:16:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T12:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xometry.asia\/?p=46067"},"modified":"2025-05-21T17:36:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T09:36:26","slug":"katana-microtome-precision-parts-for-nanometre-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.hk\/en\/katana-microtome-precision-parts-for-nanometre-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Katana Microtome: Precision Parts for Nanometre Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ConnectomX was founded in Oxford in 2018 by two scientists, Stuart Searle and Cheng Cheng. Since then, the company has been designing and recently began manufacturing a scientific electronic device called an ultramicrotome. By installing the device inside the vacuum chamber of a scanning electron microscope, users can capture volume images of biological or other material samples. In 2021, the company started selling and distributing its katana<\/em> microtomes, mainly serving companies and organisations carrying out research in biology and material science.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Katana
Katana microtome (image source: ConnectomX)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

How katana microtome works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Katana microtome uses cutting-edge technologies to help perform the following process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The ultramicrotome can be installed in a vacuum chamber of almost any scanning electron microscope\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. It automatically cuts ultrathin layers of a sample (down to 15 nm) using a diamond knife\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The connected microscope captures an image of every layer that the microtome cuts. By doing this repeatedly, tens of thousands of times, a very detailed 3D structure of a sample can be created.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
    \n
    \"Image
    Image of a sample layer (image credit: ConnectomX)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    ConnectomX\u2019s microtome automates a process that has been historically performed manually and has been very time-consuming. The new automatic technology has only been on the market for 7 or 8 years, so ConnectomX is one of the pioneers in this technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Portability is paramount<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    ConnectomX\u2019s microtome is portable, so it can easily be transferred from one microscope to another. This sets it apart from other solutions on the market that are often made to only fit one specific microscope model. Katana can be used with more than a dozen scanning electron microscopes used for scientific research.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Installed
    Installed katana microtome (image source: ConnectomX)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    Another advantage of katana\u2019s portability is that you can easily remove it from the vacuum chamber of your microscope when you don\u2019t need it. This means you don\u2019t need a separate microscope dedicated to volume electron microscope research, which gives you more flexibility. Cheng and Stuart came up with this idea while talking to potential customers and realising that there was a gap in the market. At first, they focused on portability during their 2-year R&D phase. During this period, they mainly used FEA digital software to help produce 2 functional prototypes that led to the final product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Complex construction and tight requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Complex devices like this require various mechanical and electronic components. For example, katana is constructed using the following elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n