Digital Fish Library
Encyclopedia
The Digital Fish Library (DFL) is a University of California at San Diego (UCSD) project funded by the Biological Infrastructure Initiative (DBI) of the National Science Foundation
(NSF) (Grant DBI-0446389). The DFL creates 2D and 3D visualizations of the internal and external anatomy of fish obtained with magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) methods and makes these publicly available over the web.
The information core for the Digital Fish Library is generated using high-resolution MRI scanners housed at the Center for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CfMRI) multi-user facility at UCSD. These instruments use magnetic fields to take 3D images of animal tissues, allowing researchers to non-invasively see inside them and quantitatively describe their 3D anatomy. Fish specimens are obtained from the Marine Vertebrate Collection at Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) and imaged by staff from UCSD's Center for Scientific Computation in Imaging (CSCI).
As of February 2010, the Digital Fish Library contains almost 300 species covering all 5 Classes of fish, 56 out of 60 Orders, and close to 200 of the 521 fish Families as described by Nelson, 20061. DFL imaging has also contributed to a number of published peer-reviewed scientific studies2-5.
Digital Fish Library work has been featured in the media including two National Geographic Documentaries: Magnetic Navigator and Ultimate Shark.
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF) (Grant DBI-0446389). The DFL creates 2D and 3D visualizations of the internal and external anatomy of fish obtained with magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
(MRI) methods and makes these publicly available over the web.
The information core for the Digital Fish Library is generated using high-resolution MRI scanners housed at the Center for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CfMRI) multi-user facility at UCSD. These instruments use magnetic fields to take 3D images of animal tissues, allowing researchers to non-invasively see inside them and quantitatively describe their 3D anatomy. Fish specimens are obtained from the Marine Vertebrate Collection at Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) and imaged by staff from UCSD's Center for Scientific Computation in Imaging (CSCI).
As of February 2010, the Digital Fish Library contains almost 300 species covering all 5 Classes of fish, 56 out of 60 Orders, and close to 200 of the 521 fish Families as described by Nelson, 20061. DFL imaging has also contributed to a number of published peer-reviewed scientific studies2-5.
Digital Fish Library work has been featured in the media including two National Geographic Documentaries: Magnetic Navigator and Ultimate Shark.