AT Osaka University in Japan researchers have developed a new High Speed System that slices and images brains significantly faster than previous approaches. These days it can take up to a week to slice, stain, image, and reconstruct brains in lab studies at a subcellular resolution. The number of slices is astounding, but by automating the process, the new block-face ****** microscopy tomography (FAST) System can image the Whole Brain in less than two and a half hours.
The setup consists of a spinning confocal microscope and slicer, as well as a staining mechanism that work together in unison to systematically go through the Brain slice by slice. It works on larger brains as well, as the researchers tested it on a Brain of a marmoset, a New World monkey, and human brains as well, achieving the same level of precision, but of course taking more time than with a mouse brain.
The new device should certainly help neuroscientists to construct **vel*experiments that will answer many questions currently hidden due to limits of contemporary tech**logy.