The University of Kentucky proposes to acquire an Aperio ScanScope(R) XT digital slide scanner including the ImageScope""""""""/Genie"""""""" and Webscope"""""""" viewing software. This instrument will be housed in the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center Neuropathology Core laboratory. The location is safe and secure, but open to all the Major and Minor Users, with outstanding Institutional Support. 11 Major Users and 3 Minor Users, representing ten different academic departments within the University, strongly desire the instrument. There is no analogous instrument currently available within or nearby the University of Kentucky;however, this scientific advancement dovetails very well with existing medical expertise, technical infrastructure, and research facilities at the University of Kentucky. The Aperio ScanScope XT scans and analyzes microscope slides in a digitized format that will enable optimized and detailed archiving and data mining of histopathological data. The instrument represents a significant technological step forward for the field of quantitative neuropathology by facilitating the digitized identification and analysis of histopathological hallmarks of ND, in addition to normal structures. In addition, the slide scanner is ideal for improving quantitative measures of surviving cell counts in stereology, in situ hybridization signal quantification, animal model assessments (including brain trauma and prion disease models), and other cutting edge applications that will directly facilitate NIH-funded research projects by Major Users at the University of Kentucky. This instrument will provide a unique opportunity to introduce, validate, and publish methods in digital microscopy and bioinformatics for the purpose of quantifying brain pathology. The instrument will have an Advisory Panel that is broad-based, with representation by eight different academic departments from the University of Kentucky. Finally, due to its web-based functionality, the purchase of the Aperio ScanScope XT will allow for the exchange of data throughout Kentucky's remote regions and through the network of Alzheimer's Disease Centers nationally.
