A New Standard for Mapping the Human Subcortex
We introduce the FOCUS atlas — a high-resolution, deformable atlas of the human subcortex defined at 100-micron isotropic resolution. Built from an ultra-high-resolution 7T ex-vivo MRI dataset and validated against 48 additional anatomical resources including histology and fibre dissections, it provides unprecedented anatomical precision. The atlas comprises 95 manually segmented grey and white matter structures and 82 curated fibre pathways. By preserving near-histological detail while remaining compatible with standard stereotactic space, FOCUS bridges the gap between anatomical gold standards and clinical neuroimaging.
Designed for Precision Neurosurgery and Advanced Neuroimaging
Subcortical anatomy is complex, densely packed, and critically important for interventions such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), focused ultrasound, and lesion surgery. Yet many existing atlases lack the resolution needed to model these regions accurately. FOCUS delivers submillimetre definitions of nuclei and fibre tracts across the basal ganglia, thalamus, subthalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum — including delicate pathways often invisible on conventional MRI. Its precise registration to MNI space enables reliable transformation into individual patient anatomy, empowering both research and clinical workflows.
An Open, Evolving Platform for Circuit-Level Neuroscience
FOCUS is more than an atlas — it is a flexible, open platform for subcortical brain mapping. Alongside voxelized segmentations, we introduce a manually curated pathway atlas based on anatomical priors (“tract architectonics”), enabling anatomically faithful reconstruction of complex fibre systems. The atlas, software tools, and documentation are openly available and designed for iterative refinement by the community. By making previously underrepresented subcortical structures visible and accessible, FOCUS lays the anatomical groundwork for next-generation neuromodulation and precision circuit neuroscience.
FOCUS will be available for download soon.
