Elsevier's BrainNavigator Research Tool to Launch new Features at Neuroscience 2009 Show
October 16 2009 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
BURLINGTON, Massachusetts, October 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- -
New Neuroscience Research Tool, Developed in Collaboration With the
Allen Institute for Brain Science and Used by the National
Institutes of Health, Will be Showcased October 18-21 at McCormick
Place in Chicago, Illinois Elsevier, the leading publisher of
scientific, technical and medical information and solutions,
announced today that it will showcase the new features it is
rolling out for its BrainNavigator research tool at the Society for
Neuroscience conference, Neuroscience 2009, in Chicago, the world's
largest forum for neuroscientists. Recently adopted by the NIH
(National Institutes of Health), BrainNavigator is an online,
interactive, 3D software tool that maps images of brain anatomy,
helping neuroscience researchers to save time and improve the
quality of their daily research. BrainNavigator helps locate the
position of structures within the brain, similar to a GPS system,
making visualization and communication about scientific findings
about the brain easier. After unveiling the prototype version at
the Society for Neuroscience's Neuroscience 2008 tradeshow last
November, the version including mouse and rat brains is now
available at http://www.brainnav.com/. BrainNavigator was developed
in collaboration with the Allen Institute for Brain Science and
under the editorship of Professor George Paxinos, Prince of Wales
Medical Research Institute, Sydney and Charles Watson, Professor of
Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth and Senior Professorial
Research Fellow Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney.
Offering both free and subscription-based content, it is used by
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other research
institutions, which need an easy-to-use online system that allows
them to browse, compare and label high-resolution material as well
as to create virtual sections from sophisticated 3D models of the
brain. Users can also annotate atlas drawings and share their
annotations with colleagues, which helps them work more
productively, and collaborate on new findings. New features
include: - The ability to export and print 2D and 3D images. Now,
users will be able to print and save images together with
annotations in 2D, or any virtual slice created in the 3D
application, to a graphic file. Graphics can be used in any
standard program, such as Word or PowerPoint-especially useful for
enhancing grant proposals and research papers or conference
submissions. - "Injection Planner" a feature that allows users to
select a point for injection of an electrode or pharmacological
substances via a syringe, and visualize the path for the injection
in the 3D model of the brain. This will show all of the structures
that will be affected by the procedure, and simulate the size of
the injected substance in the brain, so any injection or
electrophysiological recording can be appropriately planned. By
moving the starting point of the path in the 3D the user will be
able to plan alternate routes to avoid certain structures. This
will save time and also help with understanding how disturbing
certain structures may affect their work. - An image overlay
function which will allow users to place the atlas drawing over the
stained image. This is particularly useful for annotation and users
can share these precisely positioned annotations with other
BrainNavigator users. Also, in the future users will be able to use
the overlay feature with their own images uploaded to the
workspace. "We developed the new features and improvements in
direct response to the feedback we have received from users in very
close collaboration with our development partners," said Johannes
Menzel, Publisher Science Solutions and Content Strategy, Elsevier
Science & Technology Books. "We will continue to improve
BrainNavigator with regular functionality releases, as well as roll
out a version for human and primate brains in spring 2010."
BrainNavigator will be showcased at Elsevier's booth (#112) at
Neuroscience 2009, and hourly demonstrations will be given. To
highlight the product's comparison to a GPS system, Elsevier will
raffle away a new GPS system to a conference attendee and
interested parties can enter to win at the Elsevier booth. Free
trials of the product, including new features, will be available
beginning November 13, 2009. To sign up for a trial, visit
http://www.brainnav.com/info. Nothing in this press release
constitutes or should be inferred to be an endorsement or
recommendation of any product, service, or enterprise by the
National Institutes of Health, any other agency of the United
States Government, or any employee of the United States Government.
About BrainNavigator BrainNavigator is a collaboration between
Elsevier and the Allen Institute for Brain Science, pairing
Elsevier's vast neuroscience content with technology derived from
Allen Institute's cutting-edge Brain Explorer(R) 3D software.
Offering both free and subscription-based content, this dynamic new
resource represents a promising step towards new discoveries in the
advancement of brain research. All users will be able to browse
images and structures. Paid subscribers will enjoy using high
resolution images, adjustable virtual slicing and having the
ability to annotate and save their work and share it with their
colleagues globally, among other features. Details regarding
BrainNavigator's functionality can be found at
http://www.brainnav.com/info. About the Allen Institute for Brain
Science Launched in 2003, the Seattle-based Allen Institute for
Brain Science is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit medical
research organization dedicated to advancing brain research.
Started with $100 million in seed money from philanthropist Paul G.
Allen, the Institute takes on projects at the leading edge of
science - far-reaching projects at the intersection of biology and
technology. The resulting data create publicly available resources
that fuel discovery for countless other researchers worldwide. The
Institute's data and tools are available on the Web free of charge
at http://www.alleninstitute.org/. About the Prince of Wales
Medical Research Institute The Prince of Wales Medical Research
Institute's work is directed to understanding the integrative
actions of the brain and nervous system in health and disease. The
brain and spinal cord control and coordinate everything that we
think, speak, feel and do. Damage or disease of the brain produces
devastating results. It can leave you unable to move, unable to
speak, unable to control even your basic bodily functions. It may
leave you with debilitating chronic pain. The scientists at the
Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney, Australia, (
http://www.powmri.edu.au/) are dedicated to understanding every
aspect of the nervous system. They also focus on translating their
research into clinical practice to help diagnose and prevent
disease and ultimately to look for curative therapies. The world
leading research covers everything from cells, genes and molecules
through to how the elderly walk, and from the tiniest blood vessel
to the control of breathing. About Elsevier Elsevier is a
world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical
information products and services. The company works in partnership
with the global science and health communities to publish more than
2,000 journals, including The Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com/)
and Cell (http://www.cell.com/), and close to 20,000 book titles,
including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's
online solutions include ScienceDirect
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/), Scopus (http://www.scopus.com/),
Reaxys (http://www.reaxys.com/), MD Consult
(http://www.mdconsult.com/) and Nursing Consult
(http://www.nursingconsult.com/), which enhance the productivity of
science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite
(http://www.scival.com/) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review
(http://www.medai.com/), which help research and health care
institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively. A
global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier
(http://www.elsevier.com/) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The
company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC
(http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and
information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC
and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext
Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York
Stock Exchange). Carol Roden Senior Marketing Manager, Online
Solutions +1-619-699-6822 DATASOURCE: Elsevier CONTACT: Carol
Roden, Senior Marketing Manager, Online Solutions, +1-619-699-6822,
Copyright