Advanced image processing and modeling system for the analysis of cell micrographs in morphology

摘要

Quantitative analysis of cell-level structures is attracting substantial attention in biomedical studies. This paper presents an advanced digital image processing and modelling system for the automatic analysis of cell micrographs in morphology. For reference, photoreceptors of the rat retina are used. The system implements a new index-based quantitative method developed for the evaluation of light induced lesions in retinal Rod Outer Segments (ROS). The automatic determination of indexes greatly simplifies the description of such damages and permits the statistical analysis of morphological data. A three dimensional synthetic model of retinal ROS was built to interactively simulate the damage mechanisms. The methods reported in this paper are implemented on a graphics super-workstation hardware platform that allows the interactive development of algorithms and procedures through quasi-instant visual feedback.