ScanImage: Flexible software for laser scanning microscopy in neuroscience

描述(申请人提供)：双光子激光扫描显微镜(TPLSM)是基础和生物医学神经生物学的重要工具。它允许高分辨率、高对比度的三个 在完整的脑组织中进行立体成像。TPLSM可以在分子、突触、神经元和电路水平上详细研究大脑的结构和功能。TPLSM越来越多地被用于研究大脑疾病，如中风、癫痫、阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病和脊髓损伤。这项提议旨在支持和扩展用于控制神经生物学的激光扫描显微镜仪器的无扫描图像的开源软件。扫描成像技术使越来越多的科学家、技术人员和小型制造商能够为大脑研究开发自制和/或专门的显微镜。这种用于TPLSM控制的独立软件使TPLSM在神经生物学中的广泛和创新应用成为可能。人们越来越需要灵活地开发和部署专门的显微镜系统，以启用和推广先进的方法，如大规模脑体积成像、通过光遗传学对神经元进行靶向操作，以及在清醒的、行为正常的动物中进行成像。建议通过以下方式扩大TPLSM方法和仪器用于神经生物学的影响：1)将电生理和行为数据流的控制和测量与扫描图像集成；2)支持更广泛的扫描图像下的TPLSM显微镜硬件；3)支持更多的现有和新的TPLSM模式，从而有利于神经生物学；以及4)为快速增长的用户社区提供主动和反应性的扫描图像支持。该资源将包括软件开发人员的时间，以便在这些目标中分配和优先考虑神经科学家的用户需求，并与领先的神经科学家组成的国际指导委员会协商。最近TPLSM的采用和神经生物学出版物的快速增长反映了在完整的脑组织中进行高分辨率成像的巨大的当前和预期的科学价值。保持扫描图像作为TPLSM仪器和实验控制的前沿、动态和灵活的工具，必将导致脑科学的新一轮重大发展和发现。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Two-photon laser-scanning microscopy (TPLSM) is a critical tool for basic and biomedical neurobiology. It allows high-resolution, high-contrast three dimensional imaging within intact brain tissue. TPLSM allows detailed study of brain structure and function at the level of molecules, synapses, neurons, and circuits. Increasingly TPLSM is used to study brain disorders, such as stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury. This proposal aims to support and extend Scan-image - free, open-source software for controlling laser scanning microscopy instruments for neurobiology. Scan-image allows a rapidly growing number of scientists, technologists, and small manufacturers to develop home-built and/or specialized microscopes for brain research. Such standalone software for TPLSM control enables widespread and innovative uses of TPLSM for neurobiology. The flexibility to develop and deploy specialized microscope systems is increasingly needed to enable and propagate advanced approaches such as large-scale brain volume imaging, targeted manipulation of neurons via optogenetics, and imaging in awake, behaving animals. It is proposed to broaden the impact of TPLSM approaches and instruments used for neurobiology by: 1) integrating control and measurement of electrophysiology and behavioral data streams with Scan-image; 2) supporting a wider range of TPLSM microscopy hardware under Scan-image; 3) supporting additional existing and new modes of TPLSM with benefit to neurobiology; and 4) providing proactive and reactive support for Scan-image to the fast-growing user community. The resource will be comprised of software developer time to be allocated and prioritized among these goals towards neuroscientist user requirements, in consultation with an international Steering Committee of leading neuroscientists. The recent rapid growth of TPLSM adoption and publications in neurobiology reflects the great current and projected scientific value of high-resolution imaging in intact brain tissue. Maintaining Scan-image as a cutting-edge, dynamic, and flexible tool for TPLSM instrument and experiment control will surely lead to a new wave of important developments and discoveries in brain science.