MRI Alignment

One significant piece of our work was aligning an MRI-based pigeon atlas – a map of different pigeon brain areas such as the visual, olfactory, or auditory areas of the brain – with a CT scan that we use to develop caps and analyze resolution data. Figures exemplifying this alignment can be seen below.

CT and MRI information overlayed and viewed using a volume presentation software called MRIcron
The pigeon brain from an MRI scan in gray situated inside of the CT-based skull in a lighter color
A point-spread function limited to the pigeon brain tissue. Notice the smooth outline formed by the shape of the pigeon brain.

This alignment can be used to design better caps by allowing consideration of anatomical features and brain areas of interest. It can also be used to understand the system performance in different brain regions whether they be olfactory, visual, etc.