Abstract: An automatic thin-section manufacturing system for manufacturing thin sections by thinly cutting out an embedded block having embedded therein a biological sample while setting said embedded block at a predetermined rake angle, and said system comprising: a long cutting blade having a cutting edge on one end; a holder disposed in such a manner that it makes the rake angle with respect to the surface of the embedded block; a mounting plane which is provided to the front end of the holder, on which plural cutting blades are mounted and aligned with their cutting edges exposed to the outer side; an adsorptive member provided along the mounting plane, which maintains the posture of the cutting blades by adsorbing the base end side of the cutting blades mounted on the mounting plane; a first pressing member provided to the holder, which presses, among the plural cutting blades that are mounted and aligned on the mounting plane, the cutting blade allocated to the predetermined position against the mounting plane; a

Abstract: The container comprises a cylindrical member 20 which constitutes the side wall member, a bottom member 30 which is in contact with the bottom plane of the cylindrical member 20 and which constitutes the bottom part, and an engaged fixing part 35 for engaging the cylindrical member 20 with the bottom member 30; the cylindrical member 20 and the bottom member 30 sandwiches the carrier tape T from one side T1 of the carrier tape T and from the other side T2 of the carrier tape T, respectively, such that one of the plural thin section samples P1 may be disposed inside the cylindrical member 20. Accordingly, without cutting a sequence of tapes carrying thereon the thin section samples of biomedical tissues, each of the thin section samples of the biomedical tissues can be individually processed with different chemicals depending on the required observation for various types of biomedical tissues.

Abstract: An identification code labeling tape that is used by attaching to an embedding cassette for use simultaneously as a container for paraffin substitution treatment of a biological sample and as a mounting stage for mounting thereon an embedded block comprising an embedding agent having embedded therein the paraffin substituted biological sample, provided that the embedding cassette comprises a cassette body and a lid part that are fixed freely detachable and that a flat plane is formed on the surface of the cassette body, said identification code labeling tape comprising: a tape body having a color at least differing in value from the color of the cassette body; and an adhesive layer coated on the back plane of the tape body, which adheres the tape body on the flat plane; provided that the tape body displays the identification code on engraving along an irradiated laser beam.

Abstract: An embedding cassette to which an identification code can be engraved using a laser beam, which enables display of a clear identification code free from peeling off and unaffected by paraffin; the embedding cassette comprises a cassette body having formed thereon an open concave enclosing part having a flat plane for placing therein the biological sample, a lid part fixed freely detachable to the cassette body, which shuts the concave enclosing part, and a thin film layer provided on the flat plane, with a color at least differing in value with respect to that of the cassette body, provided that the thin film layer displays the identification code by being engraved upon irradiating a laser beam.

Abstract: A thin-section conveyor apparatus for transporting thin sections that have been prepared by thinly cutting an embedded block, which transports the thin sections to a liquid bath by mounting them on the upper plane of a conveyor belt having a longitudinal linear body extended along the direction of transportation and a transverse linear body disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal linear body, provided that the density of the transverse linear body for the part on which the thin sections are to be mounted is lower than that of the transverse linear body of the other places. It provides thin sections almost free of entraining bubbles. A thin-section scooping tool and a method for transporting thin sections are also proposed.

Abstract: To fabricate automatically a high quality sliced piece by preventing a temperature change of a surface of an enveloped block, there is provided an automatic sliced piece fabricating apparatus including a fixed base for mounting to fix an enveloped block, cutting means including a cut blade arranged on the fixed base for cutting out a sliced piece from the enveloped block by moving the cut blade and the fixed base relative to each other, a cabinet for containing the fixed base and the cutting means at inside thereof, sliced piece carrying means for carrying the cut-out sliced piece to outside of the cabinet, and temperature adjusting means for adjusting at least a surrounding temperature of the enveloped block to a predetermined temperature by supplying cold wind a temperature of which is controlled from outside at inside of the cabinet.

Abstract: To be able to alleviate burden on an operator and automatically fabricate a necessary number of sheets of prepared slides from respective embedded blocks while pertinently interchanging the respective embedded blocks, there is provided an automatic instrument for fabricating prepared slide of tissue section including a store house for storing a plurality of embedded blocks embedded with a living body sample by an embedding medium, cutting means for cutting out a section by cutting the embedded block by a predetermined thickness, first carrying means for putting in and out a selected one of the embedded block to and from the store house and carrying the selected one of the embedded block to a position of being cut by the cutting means, second carrying means for carrying the section to a storage tank stored with a liquid to be floated on a liquid surface, transcribing means for fabricating a prepared slide by transcribing the section floated on the liquid surface onto a base plate, and a control portion for con

Abstract: A sliced piece is continuously cut from plural sample blocks with a less fear of failing to make a sliced piece specimen even if continuously operated and, moreover, without causing a hand to intervene.

Abstract: To provide a sectioning instrument capable of fabricating a section having an accurate and uniform thickness to be carried to a next step automatically without deforming a surface of an embedded block and while observing the surface of the embedded block, a sectioning instrument includes a sample base for fixing an embedded block, a cutter for fabricating a section by sectioning the embedded block, carrying means for carrying the section, and a feed mechanism for moving the sample base in a predetermined feed direction, the carrying means includes a belt, a direction switching portion provided on an upper side of the cutter, and a rear roller, the belt is inserted to between the cutter and the direction switching portion from a rear side of the cutter, folded back to an upper side by the direction switching portion and is reeled back to the rear side of the cutter by the rear roller substantially in parallel with the feed direction of the feed mechanism in a plane view thereof.

Abstract: A scanning probe microscope comprises scanning control means for controlling raster scanning of an XYZ translator, and displacement detection means for detecting amount of displacement of the XYZ translator, and is configured so that of the two raster scanning axes, only displacement of the XYZ translator along a low frequency scanning axis is feedback controlled, displacement of the XYZ translator along a high frequency scanning axis is made larger than a region to be observed, and sampling of an amount of displacement of the XYZ translator starts at the same time as a relative position of a probe enters into the observation region.

Abstract: A scanning probe microscope capable of producing high precision sample images repeatedly has a driving unit for driving a sample or probe relative to the other microscopically in X, Y and Z directions, displacement detectors for measuring displacement of the driving unit in each of the X, Y and Z directions, and an image correction unit for storing output values of the displacement detectors as a data array for each of the X, Y and Z directions, performing a correction process on the data arrays, and producing an image of the sample based on the corrected data. A controller controls a measuring unit and output values of the displacement detectors are supplied to an operation/display unit connected to the controller and then supplied to an image correction device for image correction.

Abstract: A scanning probe microscope comprises scanning control means for controlling raster scanning of an XYZ translator, and displacement detection means for detecting amount of displacement of the XYZ translator, and is configured so that of the two raster scanning axes, only displacement of the XYZ translator along a low frequency scanning axis is feedback controlled, displacement of the XYZ translator along a high frequency scanning axis is made larger than a region to be observed, and sampling of an amount of displacement of the XYZ translator starts at the same time as a relative position of a probe enters into the observation region.

Abstract: A scanning probe microscope capable of repeatedly reproducing images for the shape of a sample etc. with a high degree of accuracy without being influenced by the environment is provided. A scanning probe microscope of the present invention comprises microscopic driving means for driving a sample or probe microscopically in x, Y and Z directions, displacement detection means capable of measuring displacement of the microscopic driving means in the X, Y and Z directions, and image correction means for recording values outputted by each displacement detection means as arrayed data, and making an output image from the arrayed data with the relative positions with respect to the X, Y and Z directions corrected. A controller 14 controls a measuring unit 13. Further, output values for each displacement sensor are sent to an operation/display unit 16 fitted to the controller 14.

Abstract: A signal having a resonant frequency of a cantilever is output by a first oscillator, and supplied to a vibrating element and a control unit to oscillate a probe. A low frequency signal having a large amplitude is output by a second oscillator and supplied to a piezoelectric scanning apparatus. The probe is periodically and relatively moved with respect to the sample between a position where the sample surface is penetrated by the probe and another position where the probe does not penetrate the sample surface and is outside the range of atomic forces caused by the sample. During this movement, the probe movement may be analyzed to obtain a plurality of physical characteristics about the sample, e.g.

Abstract: An xy scanning unit produces a scanning signal along an x-direction and a scanning signal along a y-direction, which are determined by a contour of a sample to be monitored, scanning time of the x-direction, and a pixel number of the x-direction, supplied from a CPU. Then, the xy scanning unit outputs these scanning signals along the x-direction and the y-direction to a piezoelectric scanning apparatus. On the other hand, a second oscillator outputs a sine wave signal having a frequency determined by the scanning time of the x-direction and the pixel number of the x-direction to a second piezoelectric plate. A sample/hold circuit holds observation data of a probe at such timing after preselected time has passed since the output of the second oscillator becomes maximum, and then outputs the held observation data to a differential amplifier and a P.I control system. An output signal Q of the P.