Wu Q., Merchant F.A., Castleman K.R. Microscope Image Processing

Издательство Academic Press, 2008, -585 pp.Microscope image processing dates back a half century when it was realized that some of the techniques of image capture and manipulation, first developed for television, could also be applied to images captured through the microscope. Initial approaches were dependent on the application: automatic screening for cancerous cells in Papanicolaou smears; automatic classification of crystal size in metal alloys; automation of white cell differential count; measurement of DNA content in tumor cells; analysis of chromosomes; etc. In each case, the solution lay in the development of hardware (often analog) and algorithms highly specific to the needs of the application. General purpose digital computing was still in its infancy. Available computers were slow, extremely expensive, and highly limited in capacity (I still remember having to squeeze a full analysis system into less than 10 kilobytes of programmable memory!). Thus, there existed an unbridgeable gap between the theory of how microscope images could be processed and what was practically attainable.
One of the earliest systematic approaches to the processing of microscopic images was the CYDAC (CYtophotometric DAta Conversion) project [1], which I worked on under the leadership of Mort Mendelsohn at the University of Pennsylvania. Images were scanned and digitized directly through the microscope. Much effort went into characterizing the system in terms of geometric and photometric sources of error. The theoretical and measured system transfer functions were compared. Filtering techniques were used both to sharpen the image and to reduce noise, while still maintaining the photometric integrity of the image. A focusing algorithm was developed and implemented as an analog assist device. But progress was agonizingly slow. Analysis was done off-line, programs were transcribed to cards, and initially we had access to a computer only once a week for a couple of hours in the middle of the night!
The modern programmable digital computer has removed all the old constraints— incredible processing power, speed, memory and storage come with any consumer computer. My ten-year-old grandson, with his digital camera and access to a lap-top computer with processing programs such as i-Photo and Adobe Photoshop, can command more image processing resources than were available in leading research laboratories less than two decades ago. The challenge lies not in processing images, but in processing them correctly and effectively. Microscope Image Processing provides the tools to meet this challenge. In this volume, the editors have drawn on the expertise of leaders in processing microscope images to introduce the reader to underlying theory, relevant algorithms, guiding principles, and practical applications. It explains not only what to do, but also which pitfalls to avoid and why. Analytic results can only be as reliable as the processes used to obtain them. Spurious results can be avoided when users understand the limitations imposed by diffraction optics, empty magnification, noise, sampling errors, etc. The book not only covers the fundamentals of microscopy and image processing, but also describes the use of the techniques as applied to fluorescence microscopy, spectral imaging, three-dimensional microscopy, structured illumination and time-lapse microscopy. Relatively advanced techniques such as wavelet and morphological image processing and automated microscopy are described in intuitive and comprehensive manner that will appeal to readers, whether technically oriented or not. The summary list at the end of each chapter is a particularly useful feature enabling the reader to access the essentials without necessarily mastering all the details of the underlying theory.
Microscope Image Processing should become a required textbook for any course on image processing, not just microscopic. It will be an invaluable resource for all who process microscope images and who use the microscope as a quantitative tool in their research. My congratulations go to the editors and authors for the scope and depth of their contributions to this informative and timely volume.Fundamentals of Microscopy
Image Digitization
Image Display
Geometric Transformations
Image Enhancement
Wavelet Image Processing
Morphological Image Processing
Image Segmentation
Object Measurement
Object Classification
Fluorescence Imaging
Multispectral Imaging
Three-Dimensional Imaging
Time-Lapse Imaging
Autofocusing
Structured Illumination Imaging
Image Data and Workflow Management