Forscher der Carnegie Mellon University und von Virginia Mason lassen Wissenschaftler mit Hilfe von VR „in“ die Zellen gehen. Mit der Expansionsmikroskopie zusammen k\u00f6nnen so beliebige Struktuen vergr\u00f6ssert werden, so dass die Nutzer sich detailliert umsehen k\u00f6nnen. Diese Technologie geht weit \u00fcber die M\u00f6glichkeiten der herk\u00f6mmlichen Lichtmikroskopie hinaus.<\/p>\n
The development of these technologies was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is intended to accelerate the understanding of infectious and autoimmune diseases. The more we know about cell structures, the better we can make diagnoses and develop prevention and treatment methods.<\/p>\n
To apply the new technique, biopsy samples containing cell tissue are taken and chemically converted into water-soluble hydrogels. The tissue is then loosened and expanded by 100 times its volume. The tissue and molecules within the sample can then be labelled, mapped and compiled into a complex data set. However, the data is so large that current technologies are barely able to interpret it. To solve this problem, a combination of expansion microscopy and virtual reality technology was developed.<\/p>\n
The VR technology specially developed for this purpose allows researchers to see the original 2D expansion microscopy images in 3D, giving them a 360-degree view of the tissue. The aim is for the VR tool, called ExMicroVR, to be shared with other researchers on open source platforms so that they too can view new details on diseases and diagnoses. Every scientist should have access to it and be able to further their education. It should even be possible to work collaboratively with up to six people on such VR tissue.<\/p>\n
\"This is the future of how scientists can deal with complex data. It's an immersive experience. You have the freedom to look at the data from any angle and any location.\"<\/p>\n