Tue Dec 10 16:00:34 UTC 2024: ## IIT-Madras Unveils Open-Source 3D Atlas of Fetal Brain

**Chennai, December 10, 2024** – The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has released DHARANI, a highly detailed, open-source 3D atlas of the fetal brain, marking a significant advancement in neuroscience research. The project, spearheaded by the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre at IIT-M, involved digitally capturing 5,132 sections of five fetal brains at a cellular level. This unprecedented dataset is freely available to researchers globally via an online portal (https://brainportal.humanbrain.in/publicview/index.html).

The research, conducted at a fraction of the cost of similar Western studies, utilized cutting-edge brain mapping technology developed indigenously. It involved creating sophisticated tools to freeze, cut, and map brain tissue at a cellular level. The resulting 3D models provide unparalleled detail for analyzing brain development, potentially leading to breakthroughs in treating brain-related conditions.

The project, initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, was supported by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Saveetha Medical College, and NVIDIA. The collaboration enabled the processing of petabytes of data.

Experts highlighted the crucial role of this research in understanding brain development within the Indian population, home to one-fifth of the world’s births. The findings are expected to improve early diagnosis and treatment of developmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The research has been accepted for publication in the *Journal of Comparative Neurology*. The project’s success underscores India’s growing potential for world-class scientific research.

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