A software has been developed by researchers to digitally navigate three-dimensional images. Called as Virtual Finger, the new technology has paved a way to make 3D imaging studies more efficient so as to save time, money and resources across many areas of experimental biology. Even by using the flat surface of computer screens, the technology allows researchers to move through digital images of small structures like neurons and synapses.
HanchuanPeng, associate investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in the US, said data collection and analysis could become 10 to 100 times faster by using Virtual Finger.
A three-dimensional image is divided into a series of thin slices by most other image analysis software. Each of the slices can be then viewed like a flat image on a computer screen. However, this technique makes it extremely difficult to study three-dimensional structures in case of big data.
But, Virtual Finger is a new technique that allows scientists to reach into three-dimensional images of small objects like single cells. Therefore, scientists get access the information much more quickly and intuitively.
"When you move your cursor along the flat screen of your computer, our software recognizes whether you are pointing to an object that is near, far, or somewhere in between, and allows you to analyze it in depth", Peng added. The advantage of the new technique is that researchers need not to sift through many two-dimensional images to perform the task.
The technology behind Virtual Finger is developed by researchers from Allen Institute for Brain Science. It is now believed that the technology may become a game-changer for many biological experiments and methods of data analysis.
via Science - Google News http://ift.tt/1l1ce3s
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