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News | 12/03/2020 | Press Release

Automated analysis of whole brain vasculature

Diseases of the brain are often associated with typical vascular changes. Now, scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München, LMU University Hospital Munich and the Technical University of Munich have come up with a technique for visualising the structures of all the brain's blood vessels – right down to the finest capillaries – including any pathological changes. So far, they have used the technique, which is based on a combination of biochemical methods and artificial intelligence, to capture the whole brain vasculature of a mouse.

Changes in the blood vessels are a hallmark of numerous brain disorders – from traumatic brain injury to stroke. Even diseases such as Alzheimer's show changes in the fine capillaries. In short, analysing the blood vessels is key to understanding both, normal and pathological brain function. "Now we have come much closer to achieving that goal", explains SyNergy member Ali Ertürk, Director of the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at Helmholtz Zentrum München and Principal Investigator at the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research at the LMU University Hospital Munich.