Centromere detector and method for determining radiation exposure from chromosome abnormalities

摘要

A method for determining radiation exposure from chromosome abnormalities present in a specimen by determining the location or locations of the centromere of each chromosome in a cell in an image of a metaphase cell by segmentation of an accurately drawn chromosome centerline followed by selection of a longitudinal cross-section with the minimum width or intensity or width and intensity; counting the number of centromeres in each chromosome in each cell; computing the frequency of dicentric chromosomes in a population of cells; and determining the radiation dose by comparing the computed frequency of dicentric chromosomes with a previously determined dose-response curve from a calibrated source.