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Cell image processing method and apparatus therefor

  • US 5,099,521 A
  • Filed: 11/21/1988
  • Issued: 03/24/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1988
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A cell image processing method comprising the steps of:

  • capturing a cell image by image pickup means;

    storing the captured image data as original image data;

    binarizing the original image data upon identifying a background portion and cell image portions contained in the original image data;

    deriving cell edge detection information comprising data indicating a pixel being an edge point on a periphery of the cell image portion and data indicating a direction to a located position of a next neighboring edge point for each pixel on a periphery of each of the cell image portions from said binarized image data;

    tracing cell edges, in order to obtain edge points of the cells, by referring to the edge detection information;

    and deriving various cell image parameters by referring to results obtained in said cell edge tracing step;

    said method characterized by further comprising the steps of;

    storing each of the number of said edge points on each horizontal scanning line;

    deriving cell identification codes in said edge tracing step by assigning data indicating a direction to a located position of neighboring edge points to each of said edge points of each of said cell image portions, based upon data indicating which side of said edge point is exterior to the cell as seen from the image scanning direction, and by assigning data indicating the same cell number to each of the edge points in the same cell image portion, this step being repeated until said stored number of said edge points is reduced one by one upon tracing said each edge point, and said stored number of edge points of one image frame becomes zero, thereby ensuring cell indentification codes are assigned to all of said cell image portions; and

    deriving said cell image parameters by successively reading out said cell image data and said cell identification codes and by correlating them with each pixel to obtain histograms of each said cell image portion.

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