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Computer‐assisted method for simultaneous three‐dimensional reconstruction of highly magnified nerve endings and low‐magnification contours of the spinal cord
Author(s) -
LISS A. G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1995.tb03592.x
Subject(s) - magnification , spinal cord , computer science , 3d reconstruction , computer vision , artificial intelligence , microscopy , tomography , frame (networking) , confocal , biomedical engineering , anatomy , optics , physics , medicine , neuroscience , biology , telecommunications
SUMMARY Three‐dimensional reconstructions of biological structures can be obtained by the use of serial sections, tomography, confocal microscopy techniques and X‐ray crystallography. The earliest reconstructions were achieved manually, but semi‐automatic and automatic techniques are now available. Tissue studied by microscopy contains structures of greatly varying dimensions. When producing a three‐dimensional reconstruction of the contours of the spinal cord and its white and grey matter, greater magnification of the fine nerve endings may provide additional information. However, reconstruction at different magnifications of the structures of interest cannot be achieved automatically, but requires manual delineation of the structures. A method is described in which a commercial program was used to provide a wire‐frame reconstruction which had been drawn by hand. The data were processed further to obtain a realistic image which could be rotated to provide details of the three‐dimensional relationships of the spinal cord structures. This technique is useful when relationships and details are otherwise difficult to comprehend due to large size differences.