IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2018 Jan;24(1):994-1003. doi: 10.1109/TVCG.2017.2744079. Epub 2017 Aug 29.
Tracing neurons in large-scale microscopy data is crucial to establishing a wiring diagram of the brain, which is needed to understand how neural circuits in the brain process information and generate behavior. Automatic techniques often fail for large and complex datasets, and connectomics researchers may spend weeks or months manually tracing neurons using 2D image stacks. We present a design study of a new virtual reality (VR) system, developed in collaboration with trained neuroanatomists, to trace neurons in microscope scans of the visual cortex of primates. We hypothesize that using consumer-grade VR technology to interact with neurons directly in 3D will help neuroscientists better resolve complex cases and enable them to trace neurons faster and with less physical and mental strain. We discuss both the design process and technical challenges in developing an interactive system to navigate and manipulate terabyte-sized image volumes in VR. Using a number of different datasets, we demonstrate that, compared to widely used commercial software, consumer-grade VR presents a promising alternative for scientists.
追踪大规模显微镜数据中的神经元对于建立大脑的连接图至关重要，这是理解大脑中的神经回路如何处理信息和产生行为所必需的。自动技术通常无法处理大型和复杂的数据集，而连接组学研究人员可能需要花费数周或数月的时间使用 2D 图像堆栈手动追踪神经元。我们提出了一项关于新虚拟现实 (VR) 系统的设计研究，该系统是与受过训练的神经解剖学家合作开发的，用于追踪灵长类动物视觉皮层显微镜扫描中的神经元。我们假设，使用消费级 VR 技术直接在 3D 中与神经元交互将帮助神经科学家更好地解决复杂情况，并使他们能够更快、更少体力和脑力消耗地追踪神经元。我们讨论了开发用于在 VR 中导航和操作 TB 级图像体积的交互式系统的设计过程和技术挑战。使用多个不同的数据集，我们证明与广泛使用的商业软件相比，消费级 VR 为科学家提供了一种很有前途的替代方案。
