New CT technique simplifies brain scans

automating multiple computed tomography (CT) scans could make whole-brain 3D mapping a routine task, The Engineer reports.

The technique, termed serial two-photon (STP) tomography, automates and standardises the process in which brain samples are divided into sections and then imaged sequentially at precise spatial orientations with two-photon microscopes.

Tomography refers to any process (including the familiar CAT and PET scans used in medical diagnostics) that images an object section by section, by shooting penetrating waves through it, Medical Xpress writes.

Computers powered by mathematical formulae reassemble the results to produce a three-dimensional rendering. Two-photon imaging is a type used in biology laboratories, particularly in conjunction with fluorescent biomarkers, which can be mobilised to illuminate specific cell types or other anatomical features. The two-photon method allows deeper optical penetration into the tissue being sampled than conventional confocal microscopy.

According to MedGadget, this system, along with other emerging automated brain-scanning techniques, may have the same effect on neuroscience as next-generation sequencing technologies had on genetics.

It used to be prohibitively expensive to sequence an entire genome (which is why the NIH had to step in for the Human Genome Project), but automated and high-throughput technologies have reduced the time and cost required, so researchers can simply sequence an entire sample rather than just a specific region.