Bitplane Imaris 9.8 image analysis software

Bitplane has released Imaris 9.8, the latest version of its microscopy image analysis software. Imaris 9.8 offers several usability improvements, including easier volume visualisation modes and virtual sample sectioning (clipping planes), which are particularly applicable when visualising large and thick samples, like those acquired with light sheet microscopy. The release also offers possibilities for object detection validation and editing in dense datasets as object boundaries are rendered together with the microscopy signal on a slicer.

Neuroscientists analysing neurons or microglia will appreciate the fact that the Filament Tracer module is enriched with a soma model for optimal reconstruction and measurements of somas and dendrites. The complete neuron model — soma, axon, dendrites and dendritic spines — can be rendered in 3D and on the extended 2D section. Rendering on the 2D section is particularly useful when tracing dense neuronal structures and to validate object detection.

Setting up the segmentation parameters in crowded datasets is no longer a challenging task, as the latest release offers the functionality to render objects on slicers, including Spots, Surfaces, Filaments and Tracks, which is essential in thick datasets with multiple objects, such as light sheet images, OPT, thick confocal sections or multiphoton datasets. In visualising microscopy data it’s as important to see the 3D rendering as it is to make the virtual dissection of the sample to see what’s inside the structure.

The software introduces a handling method for clipping planes and slicers to improve efficiency and enable better visualisation flow. This functionality improves visualisation options for large 3D data volumes. Both clipping plane and slicers are now positioned using a precise and intuitive three-arrow manipulator. Users can visualise microscopy datasets in the terabyte range (3.5 TB data visualisation tested in-house; up to 20 TB visualisation reported by the users) as well as the gigabyte range.