|
Overview
Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine have developed novel software to recognize, segment, and measure filaments and fiber structures in 2-dimensional microscope images. This software, complete with a graphical user interface, runs on a personal computer and can analyze a 512 x 512 TIF image in just 15 seconds (Pentium III). The filament lengths, crosslinks, and other quantitative descriptions of the network are of particular benefit in analyzing structure/property/functional relationships in biological tissue. Results can then be correlated to material, mechanical, or flow properties, physiological processes, or therapy. Furthermore, this software can be used to examine the ultrastructure of new materials (e.g. those formed by electrospinning).
This software was successfully utilized by the inventors to compare confocal images of the DNA biopolymer network of cystic fibrosis sputum with mucus from patients without respiratory problems. That work, and further description of this technology, was recently published in Ultramicroscopy (Volume 104, Issues 3-4, Pages 244-254).
Applications
This software can be used for a variety of image processing applications requiring the identification of linear structures, such as:
1) Analyzing microscopic images
2) Evaluating histology samples for clinical diagnosis
3) Viewing geographic maps and satellite imagery to identify roads and rivers.
|