[3dem] Overcoming CTEM limitations in CryoET with STEM & SenseAI

[Cliff Mathisen]

Hello Everyone,

CryoET is a rapidly growing area of research continuing to yield remarkable results. However, two major factors limit the amount of information that can be extracted from a lamella in conventional TEM (CTEM): dose and thickness. Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) has proven to be an incredibly useful tool for addressing these limitations. As Kourkoutis et al. (2024) noted, STEM provides "enhanced contrast and a 3-5x improvement in collection efficiency" for thick samples compared with CTEM. Not only do thicker samples provide much more meaningful context about the cell or tissue under investigation, but they are also typically easier to prep in the FIB-SEM and less prone to breakage.

Further Dose Reduction with SenseAI at Radboud University

Dr. Nico Sommerdijk and his team at Radboud University in the Netherlands are currently implementing STEM alongside SenseAI to drastically lower the dose needed to collect data for their experiments. By adding SenseAI, Dr. Sommerdijk's team has been able to achieve:

  *   A 75% reduction in dose while maintaining resolution equal to the ground truth (data below)
  *   A 75% reduction in data collection time.

Dr. Sommerdijk's current research focuses on liquid phase, viewing a dynamic process of mineralization (where resolution is inherently limited compared to cryo). However, his research clearly demonstrates the efficacy of using STEM combined with SenseAI for biological applications. Watch a short video of Dr. Sommerdijk's team discussing this research<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://senseai.vision/case-studies/radboudumc-decreasing-beam-damage-in-liquid-phase-electron-microscopy-tem/__;!!Mih3wA!GGQbB5MfFdVG6A_Pxqcn2XQT1qE3YbUrmyL23bp1w7SVLUV8AEXaOrbqRRbMLhRGrSfDmFhw_DPcazxJPums8I6D$ >

-where he also alludes to some very interesting upcoming work in the cryo space.

Curious about STEM for your CryoET Workflow?

TEM combined with SenseAI can provide your team with amazing results in CryoET, allowing you to radically reduce dose while retaining the high-resolution spatial information needed for reconstructions. If you're interested in adding STEM to your workflow, upgrading is relatively straightforward:

  *   Platform Compatibility: Both Krios, Glacios, and JEOL platforms can be upgraded to include STEM.
  *   Seamless Integration: Direct electron detectors, such as the Quantum Detectors Merlin or Timepix, can be added to your microscope on a retractable arm, requiring absolutely no modifications to your existing camera setup.

STEM is an amazing tool for CryoET that can be seamlessly added to your existing microscope. If you'd like to learn more about adding STEM and SenseAI to your workflow, please let me know. Nanoscience Instruments provides SenseAI software to researchers in the USA and Canada, and we're always happy to help advise international customers as well!

Best,

Cliff



P.S. The New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC) will also be presenting their findings on STEM with SenseAI for CryoET at this year's M&M conference in Milwaukee! Please let me know if you'd like to meetup during the conference to chat more about SenseAI.


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Cliff Mathisen - Account Manager for EM and Cryo Solutions
Nanoscience Instruments, Inc
Mobile: 978-376-8780
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.nanoscience.com__;!!Mih3wA!GGQbB5MfFdVG6A_Pxqcn2XQT1qE3YbUrmyL23bp1w7SVLUV8AEXaOrbqRRbMLhRGrSfDmFhw_DPcazxJPrlHt3_9$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.nanoscience.com/__;!!Mih3wA!GGQbB5MfFdVG6A_Pxqcn2XQT1qE3YbUrmyL23bp1w7SVLUV8AEXaOrbqRRbMLhRGrSfDmFhw_DPcazxJPpxN9_YU$ >

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