Transcript – Commercially Viable Software for The Automated Whole-Brain Mapping of Fluorescently-Labeled Cells

Hello and thank you for visiting our project entitled Development of Commercially Viable Software for the Automated Whole Brain Mapping of Fluorescent Labeled Cells. My co- investigators and I recognize the unmet need for software that enables whole brain analysis of recently labeled brain cells, such as neurons astrocytes and microglia. Such an innovation would transform neuroscience. Research has translational potential and can be modified to automate pathological analysis of other organs in addition to the brain. Our team is led by two neuroscientists, Dr. John Wong and Dr. Lee Shapiro in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics in the College of Medicine, and Dr. Atlas Wong, a computer engineer in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Collectively, with our team, we have achieved proof of principle for five major aspects of the software development. First, the software can automate feature mapping and recognize brain slices at specific coordinates along the rostral call axis of the mouse brain using automated image analysis algorithms. Second, the software can register the images and identify specific brain structures within a given brain slice. Third, the software can identify fluorescent labels cells and automate the quantification of cells within specific brain structures. Fourth, the software can export the automated cell counts into an Excel spreadsheet as a different line item for each brain region and slice coordinate. Fifth, we have developed a graphical user interface a GUI that enables intuitive control over the application at this stage in order to move forward. Additional funding is needed to perform beta testing and finetune the accuracy of the software application.