Introduction. The Research and Biotechnology Division of St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC-RBD) acquired a transmission electron microscope (TEM) in 1996. As a joint facility with the Institute of Pathology, the Electron Microscope Facility (EMF) is used for both research and clinical purposes. This paper aims to establish the clinical and research usage, as well as identify the most common referring institutions. Methodology. Data records of the EMF at the SLMC-RBD from January 1997 to December 2004 were reviewed. All submitted samples for TEM were initially categorized according to type of request (clinical or research). Thereafter, the samples under each category were classified according to (1) tissue type or site of biopsy and (2) its referring hospital or institution. Yearly data of these classifications were plotted and reviewed, and from this data, we evaluated the trend of clinical and research TEM usage. Results. This study has shown that the trend of clinical electron microscopy in the local setting is comparable to that of other institutions where renal, muscular, nerve, and skin samples dominate the scene in this particular order. This finding is also the same with other Asian electron microscopy institutions. The rise and steady decline in the requests for both clinical and research TEM has been attributed to the use of newer diagnostic techniques such as immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology. The economic situation and long turnaround time in processing may also be a factor in TEM usage. Conclusion and Recommendations. With the steady decline of electron microscopy use worldwide, strategies have been introduced to enhance its usage. Examples of these strategies include continuous information dissemination to clinicians, research scientists and the layman about the usefulness of TEM and its ever-growing applications for use, monthly newsletters containing "a case for the month" feature, which may be circulated within the physicians practicing within the center and the medical staff organizations in the locality. Such information dissemination has proven to be effective in increasing the knowledge that electron microscopy is useful both as a diagnostic tool and an ancillary procedure. Likewise, since research TEM is seemingly geared towards viral identification, negative staining should be introduced as a diagnostic and screening tool per se, capable of producing results in a matter of minutes; hence a high level of expertise in tracking these problems should be maintained.

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