“The main advantages of this scanning method are increased speed and accuracy. But apart from these benefits, this method has one other potential advantage: the ability to share raw data. This could promote collaborative efforts via the Internet. The electronic or print versions of the scans can be easily archived for later reference or as a teaching aid. In addition, this technology could allow the formation of virtual, electronic libraries of brain material from rare clinical conditions. Such resources will make this material accessible to more investigators and expand research possibilities.”

-K.E.Krout et al. J Neuroscience Methods 113 (2002) 37-40.

Karl E. Krout, John M. Jenkins, and Arthur D. Loewy of the Washington University School of Medicine use EverSmart scanners for simultaneous visualization of labeled cells and their position relative to underlying cytoarchitectonic structures for highly accurate neuroanatomical studies. They find mapping complete rat brain sections is approximately 50 percent faster than conventional XY mapping, camera lucida, or photographic procedures.