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The Art of Imaging Exhibit
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The Art of Imaging is an exhibition that aims to engage the public in bio-imaging research through visually impressive scientific images. By showing that science can be beautiful, the exhibition hopes to spark the interest of non-scientists to learn more about bio-imaging research conducted in Quebec, and around the world. The goal of this exhibition is to showcase to the public how science and art are intertwined and complementary, since it is often via an artistic lens that scientists can most effectively disseminate discoveries. Through images, we can reach everyone.
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Time & Location
Opening hours are all day October 15-19, with early viewing on October 14 after 2pm
Montreal Convention Centre, Lipstick Forest, Level 1, 201 Av. Viger O,
Sneak Peek
OFF-WHITE MATTER
Maxime Chamberland
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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This image shows a 3D rendering of the structural architecture of human brain connections derived from diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI). By measuring the diffusion of water molecules within the brain, it is possible to infer the orientation of the tissue fibres that contain their movement. The fibre pathways (or 'streamlines') mimic real bundles of axons forming the brain's white matter. Image synthesis was applied as a post-processing step to obtain a photorealistic off-white shading of the individual streamlines.
EXALTED EXPLANT
Daryan Chitsaz
Confocal microscopy with immunofluorescence
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Culturing whole pieces of embryonic neural tissue allows us to study how neurons develop in a controlled environment. Here, a ball of sensory neurons (or ganglia) that reside by the spinal cord was cultured in a plastic dish for several days and then compared with other samples grown under different conditions, using confocal microscopy, a technique that uses a spatial pinhole to increase the resolution and contrast of images. Dozens of cells remain tightly clustered in the center (blue), while numerous non-neuron cells (green) have radiated outward, forming a friendly surface on which sensory axons (red) grow. By culturing neurons in this way, their cell bodies remain in a comfortable life-like environment, allowing them to rapidly grow long axons that are ideal for studying the processes underlying neurodevelopment, such as how axons interact with the cells they grow on.
CEREBRAL STRINGS
Michaël Bernier
Vascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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The human brain is a complex machine fuelled by an intricate network of blood vessels. It has recently become clear that we need to better understand the involvement of the smallest vessels in this architecture if we seek to understand the origin of many cognitive impairments and their effects on brain function and health. However, mapping blood vessels is very difficult to do non-invasively in a clinical setting and it is limited in terms of spatial resolution, which impairs interpretability.
This image was created using very high resolution MRI after an injection of Ferumoxytol into the bloodstream. This iron-based supplement greatly enhances the contrast between tissues and blood vessels in the brain, allowing detailed segmentation of the vasculature. The image shows the axial point of view (looking down from the top of the head) of a single subject’s veins and arteries and was created using a combination of image processing and machine learning tools.