Google develops technology to image brain tissue using AI

Google has collaborated with researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Germany and announced that it has developed a technology for imaging brain and nerve connection information with high resolution.

High-precision automated reconstruction of neurons with flood-filling networks | Nature Methods
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-018-0049-4

Google AI Blog: Improving Connectomics by an Order of Magnitude
https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/07/improving-connectomics-by-order-of.html

Google researchers create AI that maps the brain's neurons
https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/16/google-researchers-create-ai-that-maps-the-brains-neurons/

Research fields that visualize brain and nerve connections are called connectmix . If we can actually visualize information on synaptic connections in the brain and information on nerve connections at high resolution, the difference between healthy people and those with problems will be clear at a glance and effective treatment will be done It is expected to be possible.

Google stated that "This technology can generate data of more than 1000 terabytes by simply imaging an organization of 1 milli cubic meter," he says, "It will be possible to produce very detailed map information" .

The technology published by Google and Max · Planck Neurobiology Laboratories is realized using a recursive neural network known as one of machine learning algorithms used for handwritten recognition and speech recognition. As a similar technology, Intel has announced imaging technology using Deep Learning in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in March 2018, but Google announced "Imaging with more than 10 times higher accuracy than the technology Intel announced I can do it. "

The research team has published source code written in TensorFlow for this technology free of charge with GitHub . It is possible to check on usage etc in the document .

In addition, the research team uses this technology to publish demo movies that have imaged neurons of Kingfisher on YouTube, and you can check what the image actually generated is.

Automated Reconstruction of Zebra Finch Area X with Flood-Filling Networks - YouTube