Dear Aiden,
We demoed the DSC1 last year for 3 or 4 days. I felt that once it was
set up correctly, i.e. auto advance and end stop etc., it worked very
well. If you have staff with RSI problems its a savoir, if you cut
mainly serial sections or lots of levels it great because of its smooth,
even action. The reasons i wouldn't buy one are, the trimmings can get
in the way of the opto sensors, it's way too slow for cutting 150-350
blocks and i felt it was dangerous to fingers because the whole
microtome and knife sit at a much higher angle, which make it so that
fingers are more easily placed over the knife edge. There is also the
loss of control you have with a conventional microtome in that the brain
(your brain) controls the trimming wheel and the little digits that pick
up the ribbon when you launch into a cutting stoke. I guess it depends
whether it suits individual laborarories type of workload.
We use a pair of Leica RM2135's and love them dearly.
David.

David Taylor
Laboratory Manager
Drs King & Mower
Adelaide, Australia