Towards an Architecture of a Multi-purpose, User-Extendable Reference Human Brain Atlas

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Informatics
• Digital Health

Background:

• Current human brain atlas development is primarily research-focused, limiting clinical application.
• Existing atlases lack user-extendability and integration across diverse fields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel definition and architecture for a user-extendable reference human brain atlas.
• To facilitate integration of the atlas in education, research, and clinical practice.
• To establish a foundation for standardized brain knowledge platforms.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a new definition for a reference human brain atlas.
• Designed a multi-purpose, user-extendable atlas architecture with four functional units: core cerebral models, knowledge database, data input/conversion, and a toolkit.
• Detailed the functional roles, components, data handling, and implementation of each unit.

Main Results:

• The proposed architecture supports comprehensive brain knowledge management: gathering, presentation, use, sharing, and discovery.
• The atlas is designed to be broadly applicable in neuroeducation, research, and clinical decision-making (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, prediction).
• The architecture provides a backbone for developing new, standardized brain atlas platforms.

Conclusions:

• The novel atlas architecture enhances brain knowledge accessibility and application across educational, research, and clinical domains.
• This user-extendable platform has the potential to become a standard across institutions, improving collaboration and knowledge dissemination.