System for advanced automated 3D microvascular analysis in neuroplasticity

描述（由申请人提供）：已经变得明显的是，微脉管系统（即，在光学显微镜水平上可见的脉管系统）在各种生理和病理条件下的脑可塑性中起关键作用，所述生理和病理条件包括神经可塑性中的基本过程，例如脑发育、学习、创伤性脑损伤和脑炎症的恢复、老化和神经变性，以及神经发生（即，新神经元的产生）和神经元前体的迁移（到它们在脑中的最终目的地）。因此，研究人员已经尝试了超过30年来追踪、重建、可视化和定量表征正常和病理组织中的大脑的微观三维（3D）微血管结构（3D microangiographitonics）。然而，在神经科学研究中很少使用3D微血管结构。这是由于缺乏研究3D微血管结构的工具。因此，我们建议创建Vesselucida，这是一种创新的软件产品，用于在正常和病理性脑组织中执行先进的，交互式的和自动的3D微血管架构。该系统将使研究取得重大进展，解决微血管在神经科学研究中神经可塑性各个方面的作用，以及药理学和生物技术研究和开发，作为开发创新治疗方法的基础，以对抗复杂的脑部疾病。因此，Vesselucida的开发代表了超越最先进技术的明显进步，对神经科学研究界和整个社会都有很大的好处。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It has become evident that the microvasculature (i.e., the vasculature visible at the light microscopic level) plays a critical role in the plasticity of he brain under various physiological and pathological conditions, including fundamental processes in neuroplasticity such as axonal, dendritic and synaptic plasticity during brain development, learning, recovery from traumatic brain injury and brain inflammation, aging and neurodegeneration, as well as during neurogenesis (i.e., the generation of new neurons) and the migration of neuronal precursors (to their final destination in the brain). Accordingly, investigators have attempted for more than 30 years to trace, reconstruct, visualize and quantitatively characterize the microscopic three-dimensional (3D) micro-angioarchitecture of the brain in normal and pathological tissue (3D microangioarchitectonics). However, there has been very little use of 3D microangioarchitectonics in neuroscience research. This is due to the paucity of tools to study 3D microangioarchitectonics. We therefore propose to create Vesselucida, an innovative software product to perform advanced, interactive and automatic 3D microangioarchitectonics in normal and pathological brain tissue. This system will allow significant advancements in studies addressing the roles of microvessels on various aspects of neuroplasticity in neuroscience research, as well as in pharmacological and biotechnology research and development as the basis for the development of innovative treatments to fight complex brain diseases. Accordingly, the development of Vesselucida represents clear progress beyond the state-of-the-art, with great benefits for the neuroscience research community and society in general.