• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.100-104
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• 2016

Electron microscopy is currently the only available technique with a spatial resolution sufficient to identify fine neuronal processes and synaptic structures in densely packed neuropil. For large-scale volume reconstruction of neuronal connectivity, serial block-face scanning electron microscopy allows us to acquire thousands of serial images in an automated fashion and reconstruct neural circuits faster by reducing the alignment task. Here we introduce the whole reconstruction procedure of synaptic network in the rat hippocampal CA1 area and discuss technical issues to be resolved for improving image quality and segmentation. Compared to the serial section transmission electron microscopy, serial block-face scanning electron microscopy produced much reliable three-dimensional data sets and accelerated reconstruction by reducing the need of alignment and distortion adjustment. This approach will generate invaluable information on organizational features of our connectomes as well as diverse neurological disorders caused by synaptic impairments.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2021

Segmenting the compartments of neurons, such as axons, dendrites, and cell bodies, is helpful in the analysis of neurological phenomena. Recently, there have been several studies to segment the compartments through deep learning. However, this approach has the potential to include errors in the results due to noise in data and differences between training data and actual data. Therefore, in order to use these for actual analysis, it is essential to proofread the results. The proofreading process requires a lot of effort and time because an expert must perform it manually. We propose an interactive neuron structure proofreading method that can more easily correct errors in the segmentation results of a deep learning. This method proofread the neuron structure based on the characteristics of the neuron with structural consistency, so that a high-accuracy proofreading result can be obtained with less interaction.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.167-174
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• 2008

The introduction of confocal microscopy makes it possible to observe the structural change of live neuronal cell. Neuro-degenerative disease, such as Alzheimer;s and Parkinson’s diseases are especially related to the morphological change of dendrite spine. That’s the reason for the study of segmentation and extraction from confocal microscope image. The difficulty comes from uneven intensity distribution and blurred boundary. Therefore, the image processing technique which can overcome these problems and extract the structural information should be suggested. In this paper, we propose robust structural information extracting technique with confocal microscopy images of dendrite in brain neurons. First, we apply the nonlinear diffusion filtering that enhance the boundary recognition. Second, we segment region of interest using iterative threshold selection. Third, we perform skeletonization based on Fast Marching Method that extracts centerline and boundary for analysing segmented structure. The result of the proposed method has been less sensitive to noise and has not been affected by rough boundary condition. Using this method shows more accurate and objective results.