SBIR-STTR Award

In this grant, we propose to build an electronic human brain atlas with an entirely new concept. The multi- scale electronic atlas will serve as a three-dimensional and visual portal to a large amount of supervised and unsupervised knowledge database. The supervised database will contain neuroscience textbooks and atlases published from Elsevier. Through the visual interface of our electronic atlas, users can identify structures of interest and can access to related histology panels, diagrams, and text information of the structures in the database. This on-demand dissemination of a section of copyright materials could revolutionize the way these academic publications are accessed in the market. The atlas is based on a published atlas book, "MRI Atlas of Human Brain White Matter, 2nd Edition", which was introduced from Elsevier in 2010. This remains as the only atlas in the market which has an extensive gray and white matter 3D parcellation (more than 300 structures) in stereotaxic coordinates. In March, 2012, an iPad App version of this atlas book was introduced, as a collaboration between Elsevier and Dr. Mori's lab in JHU (://itunes.apple.com/us/app/neuroapps-mri-altas- human/id508105278?ls=1&mt=8). We soon realized that the combination of the intuitive interface of iPad and Internet communication has a potential to revolutionize the concept and role of atlases. This new concept is based on four factors: multi-scale, three-dimensional, multi-content, and Cloud support. The new atlas will be multi-scale because it will incorporate MRI-based images with different resolutions. They will be three-dimensional, which ensures images with different resolutions will be registered each other and share the same stereotaxic coordinates. They will integrate information from various published textbooks and atlases and, therefore, it will be multi-content. Because of the large amount of information will be integrated into the atlas, the cloud architecture will be adopted, in which the requested information will be transferred from a centralized server on-demand. To create this atlas with the new concept, we will accomplish the following two aims to test the feasibility in Phase I study; Aim 1: To develop a platform for a multi-resolution atlas using MRI/DTI data of the brainstem with 3 different resolution levels at 1,000, 250, and 150 m: The data are already available in Dr. Mori's lab, which is licensed to Anatomy Works. We will co-register all image volumes to the current iPad atlas space and generate multiple high-magnification 2D panels and annotate them. These panels will then be incorporated into the iPad Atlas. Aim 2: To test the centralized communication scheme for the multi-content data transfer: Each annotation in the atlas will be linked to the supervised database in Anatomy Works. We will test this function with a textbook, "The Human Brain" and a histology-based atlas, "Atlas of the Human Brainstem", which will be licensed from Elsevier. We will develop and test the communication based on an REST based web service.

Public Health Relevance Statement:


Public Health Relevance:
We will develop an electronic atlas of the human brain for iPad. This atlas has an intuitive interface to explore human brain structures and each defined structure has a link to a proper section of various textbooks and histology-based atlases, which provides unique research and educational environment.

Project Terms:
Adopted; Anatomy; Apple; Architecture; Atlases; Autopsy; base; Books; Brain; Brain Stem; Businesses; Cell Nucleus; Collaborations; Communication; Copyright; Data; database structure; Databases; Development; Electronics; Ensure; Environment; Goals; Grant; gray matter; Histology; Human; Image; indexing; Inferior; Institutes; interest; Internet; Knowledge; Lead; Licensing; Link; Location; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Maps; Marketing; Modeling; Monitor; Morus (plant); Names; Neurosciences; next generation; Olives - dietary; phase 1 study; public health relevance; Publications; Publishing; PubMed; Research; Resolution; Role; Role Concepts; Scheme; Science; Slice; Source; Structure; System; Testing; Text; Textbooks; Tissues; trafficking; Visual; web services; white matter; Work

AnatomyWorks (AW) is developing electronic atlases of the human body in a collaborative project with Johns Hopkins University (JHU). In this application, we propose to develop a multi-scale, multi-modal atlas of the human nervous system. Our atlas will be highly unique, as it will serve as a portal for various types of content associated with the brain anatomy and neuroscience. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a new cloud-based platform, which will be used for education, anatomical references, and case-report systems for medical experts, neuroscience researchers, as well as the general public. In this grant period, we will develop and test several types of diverse contents, which will be linked to the coordinates and structural labels inside the atlases. These include; 1) more than 5,000 clinical MRI cases with various types of diseases which are being cataloged in Dr. Mori's lab and 2) an extensive pathology library of brain diseases in Dr. Troncoso's lab in Department of Pathology. In addition, we will further broaden the contents by linking Elsevier's huge resources of copyright materials (paper-based textbooks) and ScienceDirect database. These contents will be delivered through AW's atlas interface called BrainKnowledge at https://brainknowledge.anatomyworks.org, which was developed in our Phase I study. In this Phase II study, we will complete our first version of the product by accomplishing the following aims; Aim 1: Continued development of the reference atlas framework: As the comprehensive ex vivo MR imaging and subsequent serial histology sectioning are being completed in JHU, AW is receiving these materials under a license agreement. AW and JHU will work together to define volumes, surfaces, and names of various structures and deploy them as anatomical referencing materials in the BrainKnowledge platform based on the latest web interface and database technologies. Aim 2: Linkage of the content to the cloud-based BrainKnowledge interface, testing, and feedback: We will link above-mentioned contents to our BrainKnowledge. A system for fee-based user registration, user authentication and management, and content delivery will be developed and tested. The service will be released to collaborators to obtain feedback and improve the interface. Aim 3: Distribution of atlas resources and cloud platforms: Our atlas resources and cloud technologies have been attracting interests from several companies and organizations. We continue to develop these resources to further broaden the scope of licensing users. Aim 4: Testing of user contribution to BrainKnowledge: Aims 1-3 are designed to create and distribute our contents to users. However, the real power of the cloud platform is to create the platform for user contributions and interactions. Through modern design for application programing interfaces, we will develop such a platform.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
We will develop a cloud-based multi-scale electronic atlas of the human brain, which identifies more than 500 structures and each structure is linked to various sources of information about the brain anatomy and functions, as well as pathological cases.

Project Terms:
Affect; Agreement; Anatomy; Atlases; Autopsy; base; Brain; Brain Diseases; brain tissue; Businesses; Case Study; Catalogs; Cells; Clinical; cloud based; Cloud Computing; cloud platform; Collaborations; Computer Graphics; Contractor; Copyright; Data; data resource; Data Storage and Retrieval; Databases; design; Development; digital; Disease; Education; experience; Feedback; Fees; General Population; Goals; Grant; Health; Histology; Human; Human body; Image; Image Analysis; Imagery; improved; in vivo; innovation; interest; Knowledge; Label; Libraries; Licensing; Link; Location; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medical; Modality; Modeling; Modernization; movie; MRI Scans; Names; Nervous system structure; Neurosciences; Paper; Pathologic; Pathology; phase 1 study; phase 2 study; Process; programs; radiologist; Radiology Specialty; Reporting; Research; Research Personnel; Resolution; Resources; Sampling; Scanning; search engine; Services; software as a service; Source; Structure; success; Surface; System; Technology; Testing; Textbooks; tool; Transplantation; Universities; Visualization software; web interface; Work