"BrainNavigator" Unveiled By Elsevier At 'Neuroscience 2008'

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
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Article Date: 17 Nov 2008 - 1:00 PST

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A revolutionary product that will change the face of brain research was announced by Elsevier in partnership with the Allen Institute for Brain Science. BrainNavigator (http://www.elsevierlabsuite.com/brainnavigator), a 3D research tool, will replace bulky desk atlases and move brain research online, saving scientists time while improving the quality of day-to-day research.

BrainNavigator is an electronic brain map that combines the coronal, transverse and sagittal atlases on easy to navigate planes that show detailed image descriptions of each brain section. Instead of printed graphs, BrainNavigator provides a 3D precise picture, allowing for better visualization, enhanced accuracy and increased productivity. Researchers are also able to slice the brain virtually and overlay images to see sections that previously took hours to link. The preciseness of measurements on BrainNavigator leads to faster and easier identification, marking, and visualization of brain structures for researchers who depend on accurate research data.

"We are delighted to combine our cutting-edge 3-D technology with Elsevier's leading brain atlases in order to create valuable open access resources as a part of BrainNavigator," said Allan Jones, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. "By providing meaningful tools and rich content to the research community in a mixture of free and subscription content, the Allen Institute for Brain Science and Elsevier enable important advancements in brain research worldwide with BrainNavigator."

"BrainNavigator will change the way Neuroscience research is conducted," said Dr. Johannes Menzel, Publisher for Science and Technology at Elsevier, "by creating a research platform on a digital front instead of massive desk atlases, scientists can more effectively work while actively comparing against existing information. This tool is revolutionary for brain science."

Elsevier will demo the prototype at Neuroscience 2008 in Washington D.C. and begin registering potential beta testers. Scheduled for release in May 2009, registered users will have free access to select content on the BrainNavigator prior to purchase. To catch a glimpse of this, a Webcast demonstration on November 14, along with on-site tutorials at the Neuroscience 2008 tradeshow in Washington D.C., was demonstrated to researchers to show how it will truly alter life in the lab.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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.

Source: Meghan Callaghan
Elsevier