Indica Labs Extends Capabilities for Neuroscience with Microglial Activation Analysis Software

Online, November 10, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Indica Labs, Inc. extends its capabilities in the field of Neuroscience by releasing a highly advanced image analysis software package for measuring microglial cell activation in brightfield microscopic images. The software is the first of its kind for providing quantitative, objective, detailed metrics for measuring overall glial cell activation in brain tissue sections.

Microglial cells act as defenders of the brain and their activation level can be an important indicator of brain injury, disease, or toxins. The measurement of microglial cell activation has become a critical aspect of research for many neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and autism. Traditionally, these measurements are made by researchers who take on the arduous task of manually characterizing tens of thousands of cells on a single tissue sample.

Indica's new patent pending software uses advanced image processing algorithms to automatically detect and measure microglial cells and their level of activation. In addition to characterizing microglial cell activation, the software reports a wealth of additional measurements describing glial cell density, cell process length, thickness, and branching. This depth of information is simply unattainable via manual microscopy methods.

Indica Labs, CEO Steven Hashagen remarked:
"We are pleased to be able to announce the release of this groundbreaking software. It took an enormous amount of research and development effort to deliver this highly advanced software for microglial cell analysis. Now these efforts can be leveraged by the talented scientists who are working on the important task of understanding and treating neurological diseases."

Coupled with the axon quantification software released earlier this year, Indica Labs has moved into the forefront of technology providers for neuroscience research. For more information about these products or any other Indica Labs products, please visit their website at http://indicalab.com/products.html, or contact [email protected] to schedule a complementary demonstration.