Atlasing the Human Brain Using Whole-Mount Slide Scanners

Atlasing the human brain and its connections is critical to furthering our understanding of the brain, but the scale of the task makes it a difficult, time consuming process. The need for high quality images places higher demands on image acquisition and management, with considerations like imaging speed, visualization, and cross-modal compatibility. Seeking to advance neuroscience research, efforts in the US and EU rely on advances in imaging and IT to make this once seemingly impossible task more feasible. Whole-Mount digital slide imaging plays a pivotal role: it provides a high resolution basis for detailed, integrated models of the brain. Being able to produce these images quickly, in high quality, and combine them with other modalities is necessary to making new whole brain models and simulations a reality.