Abstract

Info

Title:: Algorithm for tracking living cells in vitro based on quantitative analysis of characteristic extraction

Author(s):: YANG Li; CAIWenjie; MAJing; School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China

Keywords:: cell tracking; threshold segmentation; topological constraint; quantitative analysis

Abstract:: Objective To improve the efficiency and accuracy of cell tracking algorithm for sequential images under a microscope. Methods An automatic cell tracking algorithm based on two-step threshold and morphology with topology-graph theoretical approach was proposed to analyze the trajectories and motility parameters of living cells in vitro. The accuracy of the cell tracking algorithm was analyzed in the aspects of cell number and cell characteristics. In characteristic analysis, 5 characteristic parameters were compared between automatic cell tracking and manual cell tracking, including motility distance, motility speed, chemotaxis speed, chemotaxis index, and persistency. Results The proposed algorithm achieved the identification of cells in high gray-level regions in the capillary tube and those in other lower gray-level regions, and the accuracy in cell number was 91.8%. The 5 characteristic parameters of automatic cell tracking were consistent with the results of manual sampling, with an error not exceeding 5%. Conclusion The automatic cell tracking algorithm based on two-step threshold and morphology with topologygraph theoretical approach can effectively improve the accuracy of cell tracking.