Imaging and Visualization in Developmental Biology        300530 UE, Winter Semester 2011-12

 
        Dr. Brian Metscher
        Dept. of Theoretical Biology, University of Vienna
        Tel. 1 4277 56704        
        brian.metscher@univie.ac.at
        http://homepage.univie.ac.at/brian.metscher
        http://theoretical.univie.ac.at/people/metscher/

Assistants:
Mag. Petra Pokorny    petra.pokorny@univie.ac.at
Anne Petrasko   DieAnne@gmx.at 

Class time: Wednesdays, 12:30 s.t. - 15h, in the Theoretical Biology Imaging Lab (Ebene 2, Spange 3).
The first class meeting will be on 10 October.

  
Structure of the course:

We will meet once per week, in the Theoretical Biology Department seminar room or in the Imaging Lab.  The course is really a combination of lab, lecture, and seminar: attendance and participation are essential. There will also be some homework assignments, demonstrations and simulations, and small projects.  The emphasis throughout will be on conceptual and practical understanding of imaging and visualisation processes and methods.

Readings will be assigned from various articles, web pages, etc. Most will be posted on this page.  

This course is a prerequisite for the Summer Semester Project Practicum on microCT (300416).

Evaluation:

This is a Prüfungsimmanent course, i.e. no exams. During the course, I will give you problems and exercises, some of which we will discuss in class and some of which will be graded as homework. Your final mark will depend mainly on attendance and participation throughout the semester.  

Course Topics:

Topics can be adjusted somewhat according to students' interests.

How we see: the human visual system
Optical imaging based on refraction
Light microscopy: how it works; different kinds of microscopes
Diffraction by edges, gratings
Image quality and imaging system performance
Light microscopy revisited: diffraction-based description
Concepts of resolution
What limits resolution in different systems 
Digital imaging
Manipulating and processing digital image files
Projection imaging: EM and x-ray imaging
From 2-D to 3-D: why we need three spatial dimensions, and how we can visualise them
Tomographic imaging basics
MRI, OPT, episcopic, and other 3-D modalities (PET, SPECT)
Micro-CT theory, technology, and applications

Approximately half of the semester will be devoted to 3-dimensional imaging, mainly x-ray microtomography (microCT).  In-vivo imaging, clinical applications, and electron microscopy will not be covered in any detail.


Resources:

Fiji (is just ImageJ; free image manipulation and analysis software): http://fiji.sc/

GIMP (free image manipulation program, fills the place of Photoshop): http://www.gimp.org/

Amira (expensive 3D image analysis software; 15 day trial available): http://amira.vsg3d.com/downloads.html


Microscopy primer from Nikon, with interactive graphics: http://www.microscopyu.com/tutorials/
Microscopy overviews:  Olympus Microscopy Primer ,    especially  Microscopy review


Assignments:


For Wednesday 28 November, please read through these two pages (and play with the interactive tutorials):

http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/java/digitalimaging/processing/convolutionkernels/index.html

http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/digitalimaging/imageprocessingsteps.html