IIT Madras Begins High‑Resolution 3D Brain Mapping to Boost Stroke Research

Researchers at IIT Madras have started building high‑resolution three‑dimensional maps of the human brain, a breakthrough that may reshape research on strokes and other neurological disorders. In the 57th episode of Health Wrap, senior assistant editor Zubeda Hamid talks to Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, head of the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, about the new imaging and reconstruction methods. The team prepares post‑mortem brain tissue, scans it with advanced scanners and stitches the data into full‑volume models that show structures far finer than conventional MRI. A recently released atlas called C‑STROKE demonstrates how the technique can capture the anatomy of a brain that suffered a stroke, offering detail beyond the slice‑by‑slice pictures doctors usually rely on. Mapping each brain involves expertise from neuroanatomy, imaging physics, computer graphics and data science, creating a multidisciplinary workflow. The centre plans to map more than 100 brains from infants to seniors, aiming to capture natural variations in size, shape and connectivity across the lifespan. Researchers hope the growing library will help identify subtle structural changes linked to disorders such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy or Parkinson’s. While the atlases hold promise for clinical research, the scientists stress that further validation and regulatory work are needed before the models can guide patient care. ## Context The effort adds to a global push for digital brain reference tools, which serve as benchmarks for both basic science and the development of AI‑driven diagnostic aids. By covering many ages, the project also seeks to fill gaps left by earlier atlases that focused on limited age groups.