Leica Biosystems VT1000 A - Manual (Page 40)

40 Operating Manual V 1.1 – 01/2010
Be careful when handling the dispos-
able blades or sapphire knife.
The cutting edge is extremely sharp
and can cause serious injuries.
Before inserting a blade, the specimen
to be section should be attached to the
specimen plate (clamped into place or
affixed) to prevent injuries.
Fig. 52
Fig. 53
The blade is held in place by a spring clip (53) in
the blade holder that presses against the bot-
tom of the blade holder.
• First, push the spring clip (53) upwards using
your left thumb ( Fig. 52 ).
• To insert the blade, hold it (54) by its dull
ends using your thumb and index finger and
insert it into the blade holder (55) ( Fig. 43 ),
then carefully release the spring clip - Fig. 44
shows the correctly inserted blade.
55
53
54
55
5. Operation
Inserting the blade
For high-quality sections, a sapphire knife is available (39 053237). This knife fits in the
standard blade holder and provides a superior means for sectioning tissue.
When handling the blades, exercise particular caution to ensure that the blade edge
does not contact any object. Resulting microscopic damage to the blade edge may
cause localized tearing of the specimen. Caution must also be exercised when han-
dling the blades to prevent operator injury from accidental cuts.