Welcome to the Amira-Avizo Software Use Case Gallery

Below you will find a collection of use cases of our 3D data visualization and analysis software. These use cases include scientific publications, articles, papers, posters, presentations or even videos that show how Amira-Avizo Software is used to address various scientific and industrial research topics.

Use the Domain selector to filter by main application area, and use the Search box to enter keywords related to specific topics you are interested in.

Patterns of organelle ontogeny through a cell cycle revealed by whole-cell reconstructions using 3D electron microscopy

Patterns of organelle ontogeny through a cell cycle revealed by whole-cell reconstructions using 3D electron microscopy

The major mammalian bloodstream form of the African sleeping sickness parasite Trypanosoma bruceimultiplies rapidly, and it is important to understand how these cells divide. Organelle inheritance involves complex spatiotemporal re-arrangements to ensure correct distribution to daughter cells…

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Louise Hughes, Samantha Borrett, Katie Towers, Tobias Starborg, Sue Vaughan

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3D Muscle Architecture of the Pectoral Muscles of European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

3D Muscle Architecture of the Pectoral Muscles of European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Avian flight is achieved through a number of modifications to the body, including the pectoral girdle (…). Muscle architecture is a critical variable in determining the biomechanical function of the vertebrate musculoskeletal system; however, accurate three-dimensional (3D) understanding of muscle architecture has been historically difficult to acquire. Here, we present a musculoskeletal model of a European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) pectoral girdle generated from iodine contr... Read more

S.P. Sullivan, F.R. McGechie, K.M. Middleton, C.M. Holliday

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Testing hypotheses for the function of the carnivoran baculum using finite-element analysis

Testing hypotheses for the function of the carnivoran baculum using finite-element analysis

The baculum (os penis) is a mineralized bone within the glans of the mammalian penis and is one of the most morphologically diverse structures in the mammal skeleton. (…) For the first time, to our knowledge, we apply a computational simulation approach (finite-element analysis; FEA) to quantify the three-dimensional biomechanical performance of carnivoran bacula (n = 74) based upon high-resolution micro-computed tomography scans. (…) a highly significant negative relation... Read more

Charlotte A. Brassey, James D. Gardiner, and Andrew C. Kitchener

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Assessment of effective elastic properties and residual stresses in directionally solidified eutectic Al2O3/YAG/ZrO2 ceramics by finite element analysis

Assessment of effective elastic properties and residual stresses in directionally solidified eutectic Al2O3/YAG/ZrO2 ceramics by finite element analysis

Current materials such nickel based superalloys cannot be used anymore and new materials are thus considered. For the hottest parts of jet engines, eutectic ceramics have potentially interesting features. In order to assess the thermo-mechanical properties of this material, numerical multi-scale analyses may be performed. Thus, a 3D finite element model was generated from a CT scan, representative of the microstructure and with a similar volume fraction. Effective elastic properties were calc... Read more

S. Gourdin, L. Marcin, M. Podgorski, M. Cherif, L. Carroz

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Oldest skeleton of a fossil flying squirrel casts new light on the phylogeny of the group

Oldest skeleton of a fossil flying squirrel casts new light on the phylogeny of the group

Here we report the oldest fossil skeleton of a flying squirrel (11.6 Ma) that displays the gliding-related diagnostic features shared by extant forms and allows for a recalibration of the divergence time between tree and flying squirrels. Our phylogenetic analyses combining morphological and molecular data generally support older dates than previous molecular estimates (~23 Ma), being congruent with the inclusion of some of the earliest fossils (~36 Ma) into this clade. They also show that fl... Read more

Isaac Casanovas-Vilar, Joan Garcia-Porta, Josep Fortuny, Oscar Sanisidro, Jerome Prieto, Marina Querejeta, Sergio Llacer, Josep M Robles, Federico Bernardini, David M Alba

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Structural Evolution of Highly Active Multicomponent Catalysts for Selective Propylene Oxidation

Structural Evolution of Highly Active Multicomponent Catalysts for Selective Propylene Oxidation

Multicomponent Bi-Mo-Fe-Co oxide catalysts prepared via flame spray pyrolysis were tested for selective propylene oxidation, showing high conversion (>70%) and selectivity (>85%) for acrolein and acrylic acid at temperatures of 330 ◦C. During extended time-on-stream tests (5–7 days), the catalysts retained high activity while undergoing diverse structural changes. This was evident on: (a) the atomic scale, using powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectros... Read more

Paul Sprenger, Thomas L Sheppard, Jussi-Petteri Suuronen, Abhijeet Gaur, Federico Benzi and Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt

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Digitizing extant bat diversity: An open-access repository of 3D μCT-scanned skulls for research and education

Digitizing extant bat diversity: An open-access repository of 3D μCT-scanned skulls for research and education

Biological specimens are primary records of organismal ecology and history. As such, museum collections are invaluable repositories for testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses across the tree of life. Digitizing and broadly sharing the phenotypic data from these collections serves to expand the traditional reach of museums, enabling widespread data sharing, collaboration, and education at an unprecedented scale. In recent years, μCT-scanning has been adopted as one way for efficiently... Read more

Jeff J. Shi, Erin P. Westeen, Daniel L. Rabosky

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Morphology of the bryozoan Cinctipora elegans (Cyclostomata, Cinctiporidae) with first data on its sexual reproduction and the cyclostome neuro-muscular system

Morphology of the bryozoan Cinctipora elegans (Cyclostomata, Cinctiporidae) with first data on its sexual reproduction and the cyclostome neuro-muscular system

Cyclostome bryozoans are an ancient group of marine colonial suspension-feeders comprising approximately 700 extant species. Previous morphological studies are mainly restricted to skeletal characters whereas data on soft tissues obtained by state-of-the-art methods are still lacking. In order to contribute to issues related to cyclostome ground pattern reconstruction, we analyzed the morphology of the neuromuscular system Cinctipora elegans by means of immunocytochemical staining,... Read more

Thomas F. Schwaha, Stephan Handschuh, Andrew N. Ostrovsky, Andreas Wanninger

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Convergent evolution of a mobile bony tongue in flighted dinosaurs and pterosaurs

Convergent evolution of a mobile bony tongue in flighted dinosaurs and pterosaurs

The tongue, with fleshy, muscular, and bony components, is an innovation of the earliest land-dwelling vertebrates with key functions in both feeding and respiration. Here, we bring together evidence from preserved hyoid elements from dinosaurs and outgroup archosaurs, including pterosaurs, with enhanced contrast x-ray computed tomography data from extant taxa. Midline ossification is a key component of the origin of an avian hyoid. The elaboration of the avian tongue includes the evolution o... Read more

Zhiheng Li, Zhonghe Zhou, Julia A. Clarke

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Mechanical adaptation of trabecular bone morphology in the mammalian mandible

Mechanical adaptation of trabecular bone morphology in the mammalian mandible

Alveolar bone, together with the underlying trabecular bone, fulfils an important role in providing structural support against masticatory forces. Diseases such as osteoporosis or periodontitis cause alveolar bone resorption which weakens this structural support and is a major cause of tooth loss. However, the functional relationship between alveolar bone remodelling within the molar region and masticatory forces is not well understood. This study investigated this relationship by comparing m... Read more

Peter J. Watson, Laura C. Fitton, Carlo Meloro, Michael J. Fagan, Flora Gröning

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3D Reconstruction of Lipid Droplets in the Seed of Brassica napus

3D Reconstruction of Lipid Droplets in the Seed of Brassica napus

Rapeseed is one of the most important and widely cultured oilseed crops for food and nonfood purposes worldwide. Neutral lipids are stored in lipid droplets (LDs) as fuel for germination and subsequent seedling growth. Most of the LD detection in seeds was still in 2D levels, and some of the details might have been lost in previous studies. In the present work, the configuration of LDs in seeds was obtained by confocal imaging combined with 3D reconstruction technology in Brassica napus<... Read more

Yongtai Yin, Liangxing Guo, Kang Chen, Zhenyi Guo, Hongbo Chao, Baoshan Wang, and Maoteng Licorresponding author

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3-D micro-architecture and mechanical response of soil cemented via microbial-induced calcite precipitation

3-D micro-architecture and mechanical response of soil cemented via microbial-induced calcite precipitation

We introduce the application of microbial-induced calcite precipitation via the ureolytic soil bacterium Sporosarcina Pasteurii in freeze-dried form, as a means of enhancing overall MICP efficiency and reproducibility for geotechnical engineering applications. We show that the execution of urea hydrolysis and CaCO3 precipitation persist as a “cell-free” mechanism upon the complete breakdown of rehydrated cell clusters. Further, strength and stiffness parameters of bio-cemented ... Read more

Dimitrios Terzis, Lyesse Laloui

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Drying of Corn Kernels: From Experimental Images to Multiscale Multiphysics Modeling

Drying of Corn Kernels: From Experimental Images to Multiscale Multiphysics Modeling

This work demonstrated the importance and feasibility of experimental image
to simulation workflow. The workflow is successfully applied to a food processing study, where multiphysics and multiscale modeling
based on 3D experimental image reconstruction contributes to the preservation of corn, one of the major food sources for the world population.

Corn kernels have a complex structure as they are composed of a pericarp layer outside and contain hard and soft endosperm and ... Read more

Pawan S. Takhar, and Shuang Zhang

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Morphology and ontogeny of Lophopus crystallinus lophophore support the epistome as ancestral character of phylactolaemate bryozoans

Morphology and ontogeny of Lophopus crystallinus lophophore support the epistome as ancestral character of phylactolaemate bryozoans

Phylactolaemate bryozoans are the sister-group to all remaining bryozoan taxa. Consequently, their study is essential to reveal and analyze ancestral traits of Phylactolaemata and Bryozoa in general.

They are the only bryozoans to possess an epistome which traditionally has been regarded as shared with phoronids and brachiopods. Contrary to older observations, an epistome was recently reported to be missing in the early branching phylactolaemate Lophopus crystallinus. In this... Read more

Thomas Schwaha

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Reinvestigating an enigmatic Late Cretaceous monocot: morphology, taxonomy, and biogeography of Viracarpon

Reinvestigating an enigmatic Late Cretaceous monocot: morphology, taxonomy, and biogeography of Viracarpon

Angiosperm-dominated floras of the Late Cretaceous are essential for understanding the evolutionary, ecological, and geographic radiation of flowering plants.

The Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene Deccan Intertrappean Beds of India contain angiosperm-dominated plant fossil assemblages known from multiple localities in central India. Numerous monocots have been documented from these assemblages, providing a window into an important but poorly understood time in their diversification. On... Read more

Kelly K.S. Matsunaga, Selena Y. Smith, Steven R. Manchester, Dashrath Kapgate, Deepak Ramteke, Amin Garbout, and Herminso Villarraga-Gómez

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Chronic cigarette smoke exposure drives spiral ganglion neuron loss in mice

Chronic cigarette smoke exposure drives spiral ganglion neuron loss in mice

Tobacco use is associated with an increased risk of hearing loss in older individuals, suggesting cigarette smoke (CS) exposure may target the peripheral auditory organs. However, the effects of CS exposure on general cochlear anatomy have not previously been explored.

Here we compare control and chronic CS exposed cochleae from adult mice to assess changes in structure and cell survival. Two-photon imaging techniques, including the imaging of second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-p... Read more

Stephen T. Paquette, Ryan P. Dawes, Isaac K. Sundar, Irfan Rahman, Edward B. Brown & Patricia M. White

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Scientists discover the oldest Homo sapiens fossils at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco

Scientists discover the oldest Homo sapiens fossils at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco

New finds of fossils and stone tools from the archaeological site of Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, push back the origins of our species by one hundred thousand years and show that by about 300 thousand years ago important changes in our biology and behaviour had taken place across most of Africa.

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Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany)

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AMSC Research, LLC uses Amira software to understand processes and rituals of Egyptian mummification

AMSC Research, LLC uses Amira software to understand processes and rituals of Egyptian mummification

“Scanning is important, but it is really just the first step in an immersive exploration of artifacts” says Elias. Raw data from scans taken of mummies (or other archaeological subject matter) is delivered to AMSC Research as files in a language known as DICOM. Next, these are converted into a visually readable form for analytical purposes and to launch the creative modeling process.

Elias uses Amira software to analyze scan data. Mummies are biological entities, so apart f... Read more

Dr. Jonathan Elias, AMSC Research, LLC

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MIA-Clustering: a novel method for segmentation of paleontological material

MIA-Clustering: a novel method for segmentation of paleontological material

Paleontological research increasingly uses high-resolution micro-computed tomography (μCT) to study the inner architecture of modern and fossil bone material to answer important questions regarding vertebrate evolution. This non-destructive method allows for the measurement of otherwise inaccessible morphology. Digital measurement is predicated on the accurate segmentation of modern or fossilized bone from other structures imaged in μCT scans, as errors in segmentation can result in inaccur... Read more

Christopher J. Dunmore​, Gert Wollny, Matthew M. Skinner

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A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation

A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation

The terrestrial Judith River Formation of northern Montana was deposited over an approximately 4 Myr interval during the Campanian (Late Cretaceous). Despite having been prospected and collected continuously by palaeontologists for over a century, few relatively complete dinosaur skeletons have been recovered from this unit to date. Here we describe a new genus and species of ankylosaurine dinosaur, Zuul crurivastator, from the Coal Ridge Member of the Judith River Formation, based ... Read more

Victoria M. Arbour, David C. Evans

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Analysis of Void Volume in Composite Electrode of All-solid-state Lithium-ion Battery Employing FIB-SEM and Union Operation Image Processing

Analysis of Void Volume in Composite Electrode of All-solid-state Lithium-ion Battery Employing FIB-SEM and Union Operation Image Processing

We had proposed an image-processing scheme using union operation suitable for extracting target features with hierarchical dimensions from the original data, and applied it to void analysis in a composite electrode of an all-solid-state lithium ion battery (LIB). Void analysis is very important in developing better composite electrodes for all-solid-state LIBs because internal voids should increase the interfacial resistance. Film formation of electrode-solid electrolyte composites by the aer... Read more

Yuta Yamamoto , Yasutoshi Iriyama, and Shunsuke Muto

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