System and methods for rapid and automated screening of cells
A system for performing automated cell screening in drug discovery, includes an automated microscope, a fast autofocus device, and a digital imaging system. Processes are implemented in software through which relevant cellular material is segmented and quantified with minimal user interaction. Improvements in the following areas: known methods for image processing are implemented in such a way that automated segmentation is achieved; sets of known measurements (pixel counting, etc.) are implemented as methods which demonstrate aspects of biology in a reliable fashion; components for automated positioning, focusing, imaging and processing of a multiplicity of samples are integrated as systems within which the segmentation and measurement methods may be mounted; and components and methods are adapted into systems which yield more highly automated and more rapid cell screening.
1. An optomechanical system for automated analysis of cellular elaboration, comprising:
an electronic camera;
an optical subsystem providing a focused image for the camera;
a positioning subsystem positioning specimens in a plurality of containers at a location within the range of the optical subsystem;
a computer controlling the camera and the subsystems, the computer running a computer program stored on a computer-readable medium, being arranged to extract information from digital images of cellular material by a method comprising the steps:
providing an algorithm process library comprising a set of selectable predefined algorithmic processes:
nonlinear suppression of high intensity peaks;
adaptive noise smoothing (Gaussian);
adaptive noise smoothing and feature enhancement by nonlinear diffusion filtering;
thresholding by optimal histogram bipartition;
seeded region growing;
texture transform;
morphological refinement of detected features;
quantification by local contrast;
distributional feature analyses;
frequency domain detection of granular details;
demarcation mapping;
background correction; and
sieving,
providing a set of automated control processes comprising:
automated control process for analyzing the elaboration of neuritis;
automated control process for analyzing granular material within cells;
control process for analyzing the characteristics and distribution of the granular material associated with translocation of substances between granular and nongranular subcellular compartments;
automated control process for analyzing the translocation of material between nongranular subcellular compartments; and
automated control process for analyzing the translocation of material between the nuclear and cytoplasmic subcellular compartments; and
selecting one or more automated control processes to be applied on a set of digital images of cellular material,
wherein each automated control process involves execution of two or more algorithmic processes from the algorithm process library in a predetermined sequnce to manipulate said digital images.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an interface to laboratory equipment.
3. A method for extracting information from digital images of cellular material comprising the steps:
providing an algorithm process library comprising a set of selectable predefined algorithmic processes:
nonlinear suppression of high intensity peaks;
adaptive noise smoothing (Gaussian);
adaptive noise smoothing and feature enhancement by nonlinear diffusion filtering;
thresholding by optimal histogram bipartition;
seeded region growing;
texture transform;
morphological refinement of detected features;
quantification by local contrast;
distributional feature analyses;
frequency domain detection of granular details;
demarcation mapping;
background correction; and
sieving;
providing a set of automated control processes comprising:
automated control process for analyzing the elaboration of neuritis;
automated control process for analyzing granular material within cells;
control process for analyzing the characteristics and distribution of the granular material associated with translocation of substances between granular and nongranular subcellular compartments;
automated control process for analyzing the translocation of material between nongranular subcellular compartments; and
automated control process for analyzing the translocation of material between the nuclear and cytoplasmic subcellular compartments; and
selecting one or more automated control processes to be applied on a set of digital images of cellular material,
wherein each automated control process involves execution of two or more algorithmic processes from the algorithm process library in a predetermined sequence to manipulate said digital images.
4. A computer program stored on a computer readable medium arranged to perform the method according to claim 3 when executed on a computer.