Fig. 2: Scalable architecture for in situ structure determination using SP-CET.

Scalability to large datasets is achieved by avoiding the extraction and saving of sub-tomograms and large particle stacks. a, Schematic of traditional approach for STA where data storage and I/O can become serious bottlenecks. b, Schematic of scalable framework for SP-CET refinement that only requires storage of raw data and final reconstructions. Bundles of tilt series are processed in parallel tracks using multiple cores or servers. Particle projections are extracted and aligned on-the-fly using temporary scratch space and partial reconstructions from each track are merged into a final map.