UCLA cont'd

• BrainSuite2: Designed to guide users through the process of cortical surface extraction. Mostly human (can be used for mouse) 2D and 3D MRI visualization and processing software
• mask.avi: Movie of how to use BrainSuite? 2 for masking the skull
• label.avi: Movie of how to use BrainSuite? 2 for labeling images
• cleaningamask.doc: detailed methods for cleaning up a mask
  
  
• LONI Debabeler: Manages the conversion of imaging data from one file format and convention to another.

UCSD

The following tools are available for download through the NCMIR website:

Dend is an interactive program for resectioning and deriving measurements from contoured structures. It creates structural measurements obtaining lengths, surfaces, and volumes from volume data. Investigation of 3D structures and communication to others are greatly facilitated by this computer-based visualization. Requirements: X Window and OpenGL.

Fido is an interactive, graphic, fiducial marking software for placing, editing, and tracking fiducial marks on images in a tomography tilt series. You can also use this tool to view and crop the tilt series. Requirements XFido: X Window and OpenGL, JFido: Java and Java Web Start.

Voxtrace enables volume segmentation of tomographic data using manual tracing. This program allows the researcher to outline features on individual planes of the volume while being guided by simultaneous views of the tracing displayed on a volume rendering or tilt-series. Traced contours can be viewed using XDend or used to generate surfaces for viewing in Synu. Requirements XVoxtrace: OpenGL, X windows, and Linux platforms; JVoxtrace: Java and Java 3D.

Btrack analyzes and graphs time-lapse imaging data as acquired by a Bio-Rad confocal microscope, for experiments using nonratiometric fluorescent indicator dyes. Btrack can accommodate changes in the positions of imaged cells/tissue regions and can be used for analyzing an unlimited number of areas (cells/tissue regions) in an imaged field. Requirements: SGI IRIX and Iris GL.

JViewer is a 3D viewer written in Java and Java 3D and launchable via the web. It has been integrated into the BIRN Portal, the Telescience Portal, and the Cell Centered Database (CCDB). It can currently view Synu polygon mesh, Voxtrace contours, and Microbrightfield's Neurolucida V3 ASCII file formats. Requirements: Java and Java 3D

Synuview/OpenSynu allows for interactive investigation of 3D volumes and the production of high-quality 3D images of the data. Synuview/OpenSynu works with polygon meshes, stacks of contour lines, or 3D volumes from confocal Z-series, tomography, or simulations. Requirements: X Window and OpenGL

ImageJ Plugins: A number of ImageJ Plugins have been created by NCMIR computer scientists to use during the processing of large scale mosaic images including:

• Montage RTS2000: splits an .IMG file into tiff stacks, separated by channels; option to perform a maximum projection in Z for each channel (standard processing procedure), otherwise, there will be a separate tiff stack for each Z level; option to manually adjust the size of the mosaic before the IMG file is split, used when data taking was stopped prematurely to make the file usable by the Image J plugins
• Normalize: removes lighting gradients inherent in images produced by light microscope optics
• MEManual Align: allows for the manual alignment of images in X and Y
• MECombine: Stitches together tiff stacks that have undergone a maximum Z projection in the by the Montage RTS2000 plug-in and creates an image mosaic tiff; option to use an autoalignment algorithm to attempt a more precise alignment and stitching of the images.
• Combine All: Stitches together tiff stacks that have not undergone a maximum Z projection in the by the Montage RTS2000 plug-in and creates an image mosaic tiff; option to use an autoalignment algorithm to attempt a more precise alignment and stitching of the images.
• MERGB File Merge: combines maximum Z projected mosaic tiff files into a single RGB tiff image; user designates which channels have either a red, green or blue look up table applied.
• RGB File Merge All: combines mosaic tiff files into a single RGB tiff image; user designates which channels have either a red, green or blue look up table applied.

• ME Tiled Display: a mosaic navigation plug-in that allows the user to view and manipulate tile tiff mosaics.

Detailed instructions for RTS2000 mosaic processing can be found online at: http://ncmir.ucsd.edu/~skchow/rts2000/
mosaicprocess.html

UTHSC, Drexel, and BIDMC

Drexel

Tools:

1. MacOStat 3D Atlas Viewer: 'MacOStat' is a digital Cryostat application designed initially to provide a real-time responsive navigational interface to high density, histologically prepared, 3D neuroanatomical data. The user interface was specifcally designed with the neuroanatomist in mind, provding a "virtual knife" tool with which the investigator slices through the digital tissue block (3D data set). The system has evolved into a full-featured viewer for any modality of 3D data stored in the macrovoxel format.
   
   The 'MacOStat' program is a stand-alone Mac OS application capable of loading 3D data sets from local storage (e.g., your PC hard drive or CD/DVD drive), or via an Internet-accessible server. As a "Carbonized" application, the researcher can use 'MacOStat' both on the legacy Mac OS (OS 9), as well as the current Mac OS X operating system environment.
   
   It supports arbitrary plane of view and display of both histological images and can superimpose spatially mapped, delineated regions. For detailed instructions on use, review the MacOStat Users Guide.
   
   
2. 'NetOStat' (URL link pending): 'NetOStat' is a pure Java application encapsulating the client viewer functionality of 'MacOStat'. It supports nearly all the navigational tools and data display capabilities of 'MacOStat', but only provides access to 3D data sets by connecting to the Neuroterrain Atlas server over the Internet. As a platform independent Java application, it should run under any operating system environment running a modern, Java framework (JVM v1.4.x+) - e.g., Windows XP/2000, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS (Mac OS X only due to the limits of the legacy Mac OS 9 Java Virtual Machine), etc.. So far, only limited testing on platforms other than Mac OS X has been done. We ask that you please notify us of any difficulties you have running 'NetOStat', to enable us to continue to evolving it into a robust, platform-independent tool.

Data:

• 3D Mouse Brain data set: This 3D Mouse Atlas (v2.0) is a high-resolution,17.9 micron, isotropic 3D dataset. It is composed of reconstructed Nissl stained sectional material from a freshly frozen brain of an adult male C57BL/6J strain mouse.
  
  In order to visualize this atlas, you must first download & install our 'MacOStat' atlas viewer application for the Macintosh OS. You can then either download this 3D Mouse atlas data set for viewing from your local hard drive or access it directly over the Internet via the Neuroterrain Atlas Server. A pure Java, platform independent client ('NetOStat') is also available. It supports nearly all the same navigational tools and data display capabilities as 'MacOStat', but only provides access to 3D data sets via connecting to the Neuroterrain Atlas server over the Internet.
  
  NOTE: to Mouse-BIRN participants: this is the 3D histological atlas data set which will eventual contain all the regions - applied with bilaterally symmetry - from our 2D Rat Atlas. This currrent version of the 3D Mouse Atlas contains only those regions that have been directly, manually segmented on to it by our neuroanatomical staff.

UTHSC

Modified Search/GET commands that facilitate mouse BIRN integration

• Search WebQTL at http://www.genenetwork.org/search.html
• Access the scriptable interface (for machines) http://www.genenetwork.org/CGIDoc.html

 

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