Serial Block Face‐Scanning Electron Microscopy as a Burgeoning Technology
Andrea G. Marshall, Kit Neikirk, Dominique C. Stephens, Larry Vang, Zer Vue, Heather K. Beasley, Amber Crabtree, Estêvão Scudese, Edgar Garza-López, Bryanna Shao, Evan Krystofiak, Sharifa Rutledge, Jaimaine Davis, Sandra Murray, Steven M. Damo, Prasanna Katti, Antentor Hinton
Abstract
Serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM), also referred to as serial block-face electron microscopy, is an advanced ultrastructural imaging technique that enables three-dimensional visualization that provides largerx- and y-axis ranges than other volumetric EM techniques. While SEM is first introduced in the 1930s, SBF-SEM is developed as a novel method to resolve the 3D architecture of neuronal networks across large volumes with nanometer resolution by Denk and Horstmann in 2004. Here, the authors provide an accessible overview of the advantages and challenges associated with SBF-SEM. Beyond this, the applications of SBF-SEM in biochemical domains as well as potential future clinical applications are briefly reviewed. Finally, the alternative forms of artificial intelligence-based segmentation which may contribute to devising a feasible workflow involving SBF-SEM, are also considered.