The SWAN atlas: an open multimodal resource combining neuroimaging and high-resolution histology of the human brain in stereotactic space
Precise localization of human brain regions is critical in clinical practice and population neuroimaging, particularly in stereotactic functional neurosurgery, where small targeting errors may lead to treatment failure. Although MRI provides in vivo and postmortem brain parcellation, histology offers complementary mesoscopic and microscopic information. A major limitation of histological atlases…
The SWAN atlas aims to revolutionize brain research and clinical practice by combining neuroimaging and high-resolution histology of the human brain in stereotactic space. Accurate localization of brain regions is crucial in clinical settings, especially in stereotactic functional neurosurgery, where even small errors can result in treatment failure.
While MRI provides valuable in vivo and postmortem brain parcellation, histology offers complementary mesoscopic and microscopic information. However, histological atlases often struggle to be effectively utilized in clinical settings due to the challenge of accurately coregistering histological data with in vivo imaging, as tissue processing can introduce deformation.
To address this issue, the SWAN team took a unique approach in sectioning an entire human brain using high-thickness slices. This method proved to be less prone to slice-level deformation compared to thinner slices. The histological sections were then registered to the brain's own MRI scans and normalized to standard stereotactic space through a multistep transform chain. This process ensures precise alignment between the histological data and in vivo imaging, thereby significantly improving the atlas's clinical utility.
One of the key features of the SWAN atlas is its flexibility and interoperability. Users can apply MRI-to-MRI registration to transform the atlas into patient-specific space and vice versa. Additionally, further nonlinear refinement can be achieved using SwanWarp or WarpDrive tools, allowing for even more accurate personalization of the atlas to individual patients.
The SWAN team is actively working on segmentations and software tools, with the ultimate goal of making the entire resource available for open distribution. This open access approach is expected to have a significant impact on both clinical neurosurgical research and the broader neuroimaging field.
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