Einstein's Brain Released in New Interactive iPad App

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Sep 25, 2012) - Neuroscientists, researchers, educators and the general public now have access to Albert Einstein's brain via a new iPad app that will allow its users to examine the Nobel Prize-winning physicist's brain as if they were sitting in front of a microscope.

"Never before has the general public been given access to such ultra-high resolution images of Einstein's brain," said Jim Paglia, board member of the new National Museum of Health and Medicine Chicago, slated to open to the public in 2015. The new museum is where a team of scientists has been headquartered while working on the groundbreaking technology behind the app. NMHMChicago is a 501 c (3) public charity incorporated in Chicago, Illinois.

The National Museum of Health and Medicine Chicago will release the NMHMC Harvey Collection App via the App Store, exclusively for iPads, on September 25th, 2012. The app is named after pathologist Dr. Thomas Harvey, who conducted Einstein's autopsy. The app will be priced at $9.99 and profits from the sale of the app will be used to support the Department of Defense's National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as the NMHMChicago.

The app is the result of a collaborative research and development agreement between the DoD's national medical museum in Maryland, and the NMHMChicago.

"This collaboration will allow the NMHM to share a collection with significant scientific and historical value in a way that preserves the original slides and documents for future generations," said Dr. Adrianne Noe, Director of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland. NMHM maintains the Collection as part of its Otis Historical Archives, which is part of the Museum's 25-million National Historic Landmark collection.

The sheer number of images of Einstein's brain being released is unprecedented, as is the complexity of the process to get them ready for the public.

Slides from the NMHM Harvey Collection were scanned and processed by a team of scientists and computer programmers at Vista, Calif.-based Aperio. Then, scientists at NMHMChicago developed an atlas of more than 350 neuroanatomical images that can be explored at the cellular level using the innovative new Vscope System, a virtual microscope also designed by scientists working for NMHMChicago.

"Our goal is to provide widespread access in a respectful manner that preserves the integrity of Einstein's reputation while allowing those interested in neurosciences this unprecedented opportunity," said Steve Landers, the lead software developer on the project.

NMHMChicago officials say modern technology is the best way to preserve Einstein's brain -- a fragile biological artifact -- while allowing global access to researchers, educators, historians, students and the general public.

The original sectioned material was prepared by Dr. Thomas Harvey, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the body of Albert Einstein at Princeton Hospital in 1955. Harvey's estate donated the collection to the National Museum of Health and Medicine in 2010.

About National Museum of Health and Medicine Chicago

• The National Museum of Health and Medicine Chicago is the first of what is planned to be a series of 501 (c) 3 public charity institutions around the country to act as satellites to the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland. For more information on NMHMChicago, visit NMHMChicago.org

About the National Museum of Health and Medicine

• The National Museum of Health and Medicine, a Department of Defense museum established in 1862 as the Army Medical Museum, inspires interest in and promotes the understanding of medicine -- past, present, and future -- with a special emphasis on tri-service American military medicine. NMHM is located at 2500 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, MD, 20910. For more information call (301) 319-3300 or visit NMHM online at http://www.medicalmuseum.mil.

The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.