Method for assessing image focus quality
First Claim
1. A method for determining the quality of focus of a digital image of a biological specimen comprising:
- (a) obtaining a digital image of the specimen using the specimen imaging apparatus, the digital image comprising a plurality of pixels;
(b) calculating a measure of small-scale texture in the image, wherein the small-scale texture is measured by squaring the differences of the means of adjacent pairs of pixels across the entire digital image;
(c) calculating a measure of larger-scale texture in the image, wherein the larger-scale texture is measured by squaring the differences of the means of adjacent triples of pixels across the entire digital image; and
(d) establishing an estimate of the image focus quality based on a comparison of the small-scale and larger-scale texture measurements.
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Abstract
A method for determining the quality of focus of a digital image of a biological specimen includes obtaining a digital image of a specimen using a specimen imaging apparatus. A measure of image texture is calculated at two different scales, and the measurements are compared to determine how much high-resolution data the image contains compared to low-resolution data. The texture measurement may, for example, be a Brenner auto-focus score calculated from the means of adjacent pairs of pixels for the high-resolution measurement and from the means of adjacent triples of pixels for the low-resolution measurement. A score indicative of the quality of focus is then established based on a function of the low-resolution and high-resolution measurements. This score may be used by an automated imaging device to verify that image quality is acceptable. The device may adjust the focus and acquire new images to replace any that are deemed unacceptable.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for determining the quality of focus of a digital image of a biological specimen comprising:
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(a) obtaining a digital image of the specimen using the specimen imaging apparatus, the digital image comprising a plurality of pixels; (b) calculating a measure of small-scale texture in the image, wherein the small-scale texture is measured by squaring the differences of the means of adjacent pairs of pixels across the entire digital image; (c) calculating a measure of larger-scale texture in the image, wherein the larger-scale texture is measured by squaring the differences of the means of adjacent triples of pixels across the entire digital image; and (d) establishing an estimate of the image focus quality based on a comparison of the small-scale and larger-scale texture measurements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification