MASSIVE to allow for research in 3D

Monash University and project partners the Australian Synchrotron, CSIRO and the Victorian Partnership of Advanced Computing (VPAC), announced their AU$8 million investment in a state-of-the-art supercomputer facility would have a direct impact on the study of conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and the development of future treatments for malaria and lung malfunction in premature babies.

Using the unique Multi-modal Australian ScienceS Imaging and Visualisation Environment, or MASSIVE, scientists will for the first time be able to create, analyse, view and interact with high-resolution 3D samples of their work in close to real time.

The Australian Synchrotron’s Head of Science, Associate Professor Andrew Peele, said the expanded capabilities presented by this new technology were exciting for science and, in particular, research.

“In the past, the technology just didn’t exist to capture or view data or manipulate samples in a three-dimensional sense,” explained Dr Andrew Peele. “Now we have a technology that allows us to do this in near real time and in 3D.”

Monash University bioengineering researcher Dr Andreas Fouras said that the unique focus of MASSIVE has the capability to significantly advance research into fields such as lung research.

“MASSIVE will be a powerful tool that will allow us to extract information, such as intricate 3D lung structure, that was previously hidden within a huge amount of high-resolution 3D data. It will be a platform for us to develop new imaging and visualisation techniques and we expect it to revolutionise lung imaging leading to new advances in the study of diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.”

The new facility, located at both the Australian Synchrotron and Monash University, will allow scientists in fields covering biomedicine, geoscience, neuroscience, astronomy, engineering and climate studies, to build, analyse and manipulate their own multidimensional research data.