MyelTracer

MyelTracer quantifies the myelin g-ratio (the ratio of inner axonal diameter to total outer diameter including the myelin sheath) from microscopy images to assess myelin sheath thickness and neuronal signal transduction efficiency in the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Key Features:

• Semi-Automated Quantification: Streamlines g-ratio measurement that is traditionally performed manually using electron microscopy.
• Consistency Across Samples: Provides consistent g-ratio measurements across various tissues and developmental stages in animal models, including during remyelination after optic nerve injury.
• Time Efficiency: Reduces total time required for g-ratio quantification by 40-60%.
• Image Processing: Performs image analysis using the Open Computer Vision Library (OpenCV).

Scientific Applications:

• Developmental Studies: Tracks changes in myelin thickness and g-ratio during developmental stages.
• Disease Modeling: Quantifies g-ratio changes relevant to demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and to studies of remyelination.
• Phenotypic Analysis: Detects hypomyelination phenotypes in genetic and neurological research, including reported use in a Williams syndrome mouse model.

Methodology:

Implementation uses the Open Computer Vision Library (OpenCV) for image processing.