Elsevier launches official version of Brai...( Amsterdam 13 July 2009 Elsevier ann...),Health

Amsterdam, 13 July 2009 Elsevier announced today the launch of the official version of BrainNavigator, a neuroscience research tool developed in collaboration with the Allen Institute for Brain Science and under the editorship of Professor George Paxinos and Charles Watson, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney. After unveiling the prototype version at the Society for Neuroscience's Neuroscience 2008 tradeshow last November, the rodent brain version is now available at www.brainnav.com.

BrainNavigator is an online, interactive, 3D software tool that maps brain images and anatomy, helping researchers, especially neuroscientists, save time and improve the quality of their daily research. BrainNavigator helps locate the position of structures within the brain, similar to a GPS system, making visualization and understanding of the brain easier.

Traditionally, researchers use print atlases to help them identify structures, for example when viewing brain tissue under a microscope. Now, with BrainNavigator, which combines atlas maps in one easy-to-navigate web-based system, researchers can view detailed images of each brain section. Brain images are no longer only shown as flat maps but also as objects with depth. A particular advance is the facility to create virtual sections from the 3D brain model at very high detail and quality to mimic the real situation in the biological tissue in the laboratory.

"Neuroscientists indicated a need for an easy-to-use online system that would allow them to browse, compare and label high-resolution material as well as create virtual sections. And they wanted a way to annotate and share their research with colleagues. These are all features that BrainNavigator offers, so that researchers can work more productively, with deeper insights, and collaborate on new findings", said Johannes Menzel, Publisher of Science Solutions and Content Strategy at Elsevie
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