IIT researchers take rare look inside Foetal Brain

About DHARINI

• DHARINI is the world’s largest and most detailed high-resolution 3D foetal brain atlas, mapping over 5,000 brain sections and 500 brain regions.
• The atlas focuses on brains from the second trimester ( at 14, 17, 21, 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy), a key period for rapid growth and development.
• DHARINI is the only brain atlas to capture the growing brain in fetuses.

Technological Process

• Freezing and Slicing: The brains were frozen and thinly sliced, enabling scientists to see the structures. Thin slicing was done using complex robotic instrumentation — the slices are of just 10 to 20 micron thickness which is equivalent to 1/10th or 1/5th the thickness of human hair.
• Microscopic Imaging: These thin slices, which become transparent, are then stained and microscopically imaged in extreme detail.
• 3D Mapping: Digitized slices are reconstructed into a 3D brain atlas using advanced technology.

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