Source: FEI Company

FEI Announces Teneo VS for 3D Volume Imaging of Cells and Tissues

The Teneo VS Delivers Excellent Resolution Over Large Volumes to Allow Life Scientists to Explore the Structure and Interactions of Cells and Tissues Down to the Nanometer Scale

HILLSBORO, Ore., Sept. 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FEI (Nasdaq:FEIC) announced today its new Teneo VS™ scanning electron microscope (SEM), which offers a VolumeScope™ capability for life science applications. The Teneo platform tightly integrates FEI's latest-generation SEM with VolumeScope, an in-chamber microtome and proprietary analytical software to provide fully-automated, large-volume reconstructions with dramatically improved z-axis resolution. The Teneo VS will be demonstrated at the International Microscopy Congress, to be held September 7-12, in Prague, Czech Republic. Initial shipments are planned for Q1 2015.

"The Teneo VS is a fully-integrated 3D volume imaging solution for life scientists," said Peter Fruhstorfer, vice president and general manager of Life Sciences, FEI. "Researchers in cellular, tissue, developmental and neurobiology, as well as toxicology and pharmacology, need to see nanoscale detail over relatively large sample volumes in order to understand functions and interactions within cells and tissues. The tight integration and extensive automation of the Teneo VS ensures fast, easy analysis, while the combination of our ThruSight™ and MAPS™ software deliver unprecedented resolution over large sample volumes."

VolumeScope uses serial block face imaging (SBFI) to acquire a 3D volume from a block of tissue or cells. While SEMs can provide nanometer-scale lateral resolution in images of each slice, the axial resolution of the reconstructed model is normally limited by the physical thickness of the slices, typically 25 micrometers or more. The Teneo VS uses FEI's ThruSight multi-energy deconvolution to resolve features at different depths within each slice, thus improving axial resolution.

The VolumeScope in-chamber ultra-microtome is fully-integrated with the Teneo VS operating and imaging software. Switching between volume imaging and normal SEM operation is fast and easy. MAPS software uses tiling and stitching to acquire high-resolution composite images that are much larger than a single field of view. MAPS also permits correlation with light microscope images for easy targeting of specific areas of interests. Reconstruction, visualization, analysis and presentation are handled by Amira™ software, which imports the image data directly from the microscope. The system also offers a low-vacuum water vapor option with dedicated detection that can reduce charging and provide further improvements in contrast and resolution on challenging samples.

For more information, please go to http://www.fei.com/teneo-for-life-sciences or visit the FEI booth (#6) at the International Microscopy Congress.

About FEI

FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC) designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of high-performance microscopy workflow solutions that provide images and answers at the micro-, nano- and picometer scales. Its innovation and leadership enable customers in industry and science to increase productivity and make breakthrough discoveries. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,600 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.

FEI Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the performance capabilities and benefits of the Teneo VS, VolumeScope, ThruSight, MAPS and Amira software. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include but are not limited to our ability to manufacture, ship, deliver and install the tools or software as expected; failure of the product or technology to perform as expected; unexpected technology problems and challenges; changes to the technology; the inability of FEI, its suppliers or project partners to make the technological advances required for the technology to achieve anticipated results; and the inability of the customer to deploy the tools or develop and deploy the expected new applications. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.