Serial two-photon tomography (STPT) of the brain through bi-channel image registration and deep learning segmentation (BIRDS)

We have developed an open-source software called BIRDS (bi-channel image registration and deep learning segmentation) for the mapping and analysis of 3D microscopy data and applied this to the mouse brain. The BIRDS pipeline includes image pre-processing, bi-channel registration, automatic annotation, creation of a 3D digital frame, high-resolution visualization, and expandable quantitative analysis. This new bi-channel registration algorithm is adaptive to various types of whole-brain data from different microscopy platforms and shows dramatically improved registration accuracy. Additionally, as this platform combines registration with neural networks, its improved function relative to other platforms lies in the fact that the registration procedure can readily provide training data for network construction, while the trained neural network can efficiently segment incomplete/defective brain data that is otherwise difficult to register. Our software is thus optimized to enable either mi...