Biomedical subjects

Bill Hill

Publications and source records attributed to Bill Hill.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

JAtlasView: a Java atlas-viewer for browsing biomedical 3D images and atlases.

BACKGROUND: Many three-dimensional (3D) images are routinely collected in biomedical research and a number of digital atlases with associated anatomical and other information have been published. A number of tools are available for viewing this data ranging from commercial visualization packages to freely available, typically system architecture dependent, solutions. Here we discuss an atlas viewer implemented to run on any workstation using the architecture neutral Java programming language. RESULTS: We report the development of a freely available Java based viewer for 3D image data, descibe the structure and functionality of the viewer and how automated tools can be developed to manage the Java Native Interface code. The viewer allows arbitrary re-sectioning of the data and interactive browsing through the volume. With appropriately formatted data, for example as provided for the Electronic Atlas of the Developing Human Brain, a 3D surface view and anatomical browsing is available. The interface is developed in Java with Java3D providing the 3D rendering. For efficiency the image data is manipulated using the Woolz image-processing library provided as a dynamically linked module for each machine architecture. CONCLUSION: We conclude that Java provides an appropriate environment for efficient development of these tools and techniques exist to allow computationally efficient image-processing libraries to be integrated relatively easily.

Anatomy↗

PubMed2003

EMAP and EMAGE: a framework for understanding spatially organized data.

The Edinburgh MouseAtlas Project (EMAP) is a time-series of mouse-embryo volumetric models. The models provide a context-free spatial framework onto which structural interpretations and experimental data can be mapped. This enables collation, comparison, and query of complex spatial patterns with respect to each other and with respect to known or hypothesized structure. The atlas also includes a time-dependent anatomical ontology and mapping between the ontology and the spatial models in the form of delineated anatomical regions or tissues. The models provide a natural, graphical context for browsing and visualizing complex data. The Edinburgh Mouse Atlas Gene-Expression Database (EMAGE) is one of the first applications of the EMAP framework and provides a spatially mapped gene-expression database with associated tools for data mapping, submission, and query. In this article, we describe the underlying principles of the Atlas and the gene-expression database, and provide a practical introduction to the use of the EMAP and EMAGE tools, including use of new techniques for whole body gene-expression data capture and mapping.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Optical projection tomography as a tool for 3D microscopy and gene expression studies.

Current techniques for three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy (deconvolution, confocal microscopy, and optical coherence tomography) generate 3D data by "optically sectioning" the specimen. This places severe constraints on the maximum thickness of a specimen that can be imaged. We have developed a microscopy technique that uses optical projection tomography (OPT) to produce high-resolution 3D images of both fluorescent and nonfluorescent biological specimens with a thickness of up to 15 millimeters. OPT microscopy allows the rapid mapping of the tissue distribution of RNA and protein expression in intact embryos or organ systems and can therefore be instrumental in studies of developmental biology or gene function.

Anatomy, Cross-Sectional↗