Mouse Brain Library
BXD Resource
Mouse Brain Library

iScope — Internet Microscope

Remote microscopy · On-demand imaging · Remote stereology
Project Status Notice
The iScope Project has NOT been under active development since mid-2005. Source code and technical assistance are available upon request — please contact Dr. Rob Williams. The MBL is now being digitized at higher resolution using an Aperio scanner (≈1 µm/pixel) and is viewable via the MBL Pivot Collection.

The Internet Microscope System (1999 – 2005)

The iScope — "internet microscope" — was a complete system for Internet microscopy located at the University of Tennessee in Memphis from 1999 to 2005. Three Zeiss Universal microscopes provided online, real-time access to the slides which form the Mouse Brain Library.

This system worked reasonably well, but it was difficult to maintain the microscope hardware and simultaneously develop web services software for three operating systems. By 2005, technology to digitize massive slide collections using high-speed scanners had advanced to the point that it made more sense to perform all analysis using digitized image repositories rather than live image capture. For this reason, we stopped active development of the iScope in 2005 and have concentrated on improving the base-level resolution of the MBL collection.

Live Microscope Control
Control a research-grade light microscope remotely in real time from any desktop computer running Mac OS X, Windows, or Linux.
On-Demand Imaging
Acquire high-resolution, full-color images of the tissue collection for use in papers and educational materials.
Remote Stereology
Perform cell counting and area measurements on our tissue from anywhere in the world using free stereology software.
01
Register Your Name
Create a new login and password, and download the iScope software appropriate for your computer. Our iScope system is freely available for public use, but you must provide a valid email address.
Register & Download
02
Download the Software
Once you have a login and password, download the iScope software. Versions are available for Mac OS X, UNIX / Linux, and Windows — including the integrated Gumbo + Aria3D client suite.
Get Software
03
Follow the Tutorial
View the visual tutorial for help using the iScope software, navigating slide collections, and configuring the client for your operating system.
View Tutorial
04
Explore Applications
Once you have the iScope software installed and working, explore the documented applications including cell counting, volume estimation, and high-resolution image capture.
See Applications
MBL Pivot Collection
We are acquiring much higher resolution images of a majority of slides in the MBL using an Aperio scanner at approximately 1 micron/pixel. These images can be viewed using our experimental MBL Pivot web site — a very impressive approach to viewing and analyzing massive image data sets using Microsoft Silverlight. You need to install the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in to use it.

Licensing & Installation

Although the iScope client software is free for non-commercial use, the server software package requires licensing. If you are interested in creating an iScope system to serve your own slide collection, we can help you select a suitable hardware configuration and provide a license for the iScope server software.

Please contact Dr. Rob Williams for more information on hardware requirements, server licensing, and setup assistance. We can provide source code and other technical help on request.