Chennai: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched a mission to create three-dimensional, cell-resolution maps of more than 100 human brains across different stages of life, from the foetal stage to old age, including brains affected by disease.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the mission and dedicated the institute’s Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC) to the country. He also released C-STROKE, which IIT Madras describes as the world’s first human ischaemic stroke atlas.
The mission aims to build what the centre says will be the largest collection of whole-human-brain maps at cellular resolution. The digital atlases are intended to be publicly accessible to researchers and medical professionals through the centre’s imaging and computing platform.
C-STROKE links clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans taken before death with microscopic examination of brain tissue. It contains more than 1,000 annotated brain sections from a stroke-affected brain, mapping cellular indicators associated with neuronal health, neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, hypoxia and axonal injury.
According to IIT Madras, the atlas enables researchers to examine the cellular changes underlying patterns seen in clinical brain scans and could support research into cerebrovascular diseases and potential therapeutic targets.
The centre uses a high-throughput imaging and computing platform to process whole post-mortem human brains into digital three-dimensional maps. The computing work for the maps was carried out using the Param Shakti supercomputer, supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The broader mapping mission involves more than 200 researchers, engineers and technicians at SGBC, over 10 medical institutions in India and more than 30 researchers from over 10 countries, the institute said.
The C-STROKE research received support from Prem Watsa, an IIT Madras distinguished alumnus and chairman of Fairfax Financial.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys and a distinguished alumnus of IIT Madras who helped establish the centre and is a major donor, said the Prime Minister’s visit would encourage scientists working on the project and could inspire more philanthropic support for research in India.
Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, head of SGBC, said the mission brings together brain sciences, engineering, medicine and technology, with the maps and atlases expected to contribute to neuroscience and neuromedicine research.
