What is Stereology?

Stereology provides an important contribution to the advancement in biomedical research by improving the consistency and dependability of quantitative analytical results produced in the laboratory and reported in scientific publications.

Design-based stereology has taken its place as the standard methodology for quantitative histology used in biomedical research, particularly in the identification of subtle yet important alterations in the morphology of the central nervous system based on disturbances during development or in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

Measurements of objects (including size, shape and number) are obtained in an unbiased way by implementation of proven techniques which include geometric overlays, mathematical formulae, counting rules, and systematic random sampling methods. Results are accurate, efficient and more reliable than other ad hoc quantitative analyses. Stereology.info provides a good, comprehensive overview of unbiased stereology.

Stereology is a tool used to quantify properties of 3D objects from 2D sections through an object (such as microscopic slides of a solid specimen). The proper use of stereology makes these estimates unbiased and accurate. The basic tool of stereology is the “probe” – a graphical overlay used to sample randomly selected subsets of the object of interest. Stereo Investigator automates the probe layout and stage movement, making analysis of material simple and efficient.

Neuroscientists now recognize stereology as the preferred way to estimate numbers of cell populations in brain structures. In addition, some authoritative scientific journals now require that researchers use stereological techniques for analyzing cell populations in order to be published.

The practice of stereology can often be tedious, complicated, and confusing. Stereo Investigator removes the obfuscation and makes the complexity of the underlying stereological methodologies transparent to the user so that meaningful analyses can be done quickly and easily.

Stereo Investigator implements design-based stereology procedures that use small sample sizes that can be collected rapidly and assure findings that will be unbiased and statistically efficient. Stereo Investigator’s implementation of these stereological procedures reflects our dedicated effort to minimize the time required to collect data, and to maximize the accuracy of the results.