Three-dimensional Reconstruction of the Drosophila Larval and Adult Brain
- 3D Reconstruction
A reconstruction can be based either on the complete volume or on the surfaces of the
structure of interest. The general techniques are called volume-rendering and
surface-rendering, respectively. Volume-rendering utilizes a variety of algorithms to
generate three-dimensional views from the optical sections obtained with the confocal
microscope. A ray-tracing algorithm for example uses a simulated light source and
calculates which voxels, i.e. points in three-dimensional space, form a continuous object.
Such algorithms require the complete three-dimensional data set. To generate views of the
data in real time exceeds the capacity of a normal desktop computer. Hence volume rendered reconstructions are mainly distributed as images showing single views or video sequences.
In contrast, surface rendering is based on labeled and therefore drastically reduced
datasets. Generating views of three-dimensional surfaces can be performed on a normal
desktop computer in real-time, i.e such models can be handled and manipulated interactively
with a 3D viewer. The Virtual Reality Modeling Language 2 (VRML2) has been established as
an ISO standard for the transfer of such surface models via the Internet. VRML2 is
programmable and allows one not only to turn and move 3D objects, but also to remove parts
of structures and include the original image data on which the reconstruction is based.
Larval Brain Model
Adult Brain Model
Main
| The Flybrain
| Materials and Methods
| Handling of 3D models