An automated pattern recognition system for the quantification of inflammatory cells in hepatitis-C-infected liver biopsies

This paper presents an automated system for the quantification of inflammatory cells in hepatitis-C-infected liver biopsies. Initially, features are extracted from colour-corrected biopsy images at positions of interest identified by adaptive thresholding and clump decomposition. A sequential floating search method and principal component analysis are used to reduce dimensionality. Manually annotated training images allow supervised training. The performance of Gaussian parametric and mixture models is compared when used to classify regions as either inflammatory or healthy. The system is optimized using a response surface method that maximises the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. This system is then tested on images previously ranked by a number of observers with varying levels of expertise. These results are compared to the automated system using Spearman rank correlation. Results show that this system can rank 15 test images, with varying degrees of inflammation, in strong agreement with five expert pathologists

Vision technology/algorithms for space robotics applications

The thrust of automation and robotics for space applications has been proposed for increased productivity, improved reliability, increased flexibility, higher safety, and for the performance of automating time-consuming tasks, increasing productivity/performance of crew-accomplished tasks, and performing tasks beyond the capability of the crew. This paper provides a review of efforts currently in progress in the area of robotic vision. Both systems and algorithms are discussed. The evolution of future vision/sensing is projected to include the fusion of multisensors ranging from microwave to optical with multimode capability to include position, attitude, recognition, and motion parameters. The key feature of the overall system design will be small size and weight, fast signal processing, robust algorithms, and accurate parameter determination. These aspects of vision/sensing are also discussed

Structured Light-Based 3D Reconstruction System for Plants.

Camera-based 3D reconstruction of physical objects is one of the most popular computer vision trends in recent years. Many systems have been built to model different real-world subjects, but there is lack of a completely robust system for plants. This paper presents a full 3D reconstruction system that incorporates both hardware structures (including the proposed structured light system to enhance textures on object surfaces) and software algorithms (including the proposed 3D point cloud registration and plant feature measurement). This paper demonstrates the ability to produce 3D models of whole plants created from multiple pairs of stereo images taken at different viewing angles, without the need to destructively cut away any parts of a plant. The ability to accurately predict phenotyping features, such as the number of leaves, plant height, leaf size and internode distances, is also demonstrated. Experimental results show that, for plants having a range of leaf sizes and a distance between leaves appropriate for the hardware design, the algorithms successfully predict phenotyping features in the target crops, with a recall of 0.97 and a precision of 0.89 for leaf detection and less than a 13-mm error for plant size, leaf size and internode distance

Technical note : TRACKFlow, a new versatile microscope system forfission track analysis

We here present TRACKFlow, a new system with dedicated modules for the fission track (FT) laboratory. It is based on the motorised Nikon Eclipse Ni-E upright microscope with the Nikon DS-Ri2 full frame camera and is embedded within the Nikon NIS-Elements Advanced Research software package. TRACKFlow decouples image acquisition from analysis to decrease schedule stress of the microscope. The system further has the aim of being versatile, adaptable to multiple preparation protocols and analysis approaches. It is both suited for small-scale laboratories and is also ready for upscaling to high-throughput imaging. The versatility of the system, based on the operators’ full access to the NIS-Elements package, exceeds that of other systems for FT and further expands to stepping away from the dedicated FT microscope towards a general microscope for Earth Sciences, including dedicated modules for FT research. TRACKFlow consists of a number of user-friendly protocols which are based on the well plate design that allows sequential scanning of multiple samples without the need of replacing the slide on the stage. All protocols include a sub-protocol to scan a map of the mount for easy navigation through the samples on the stage. Two protocols are designed for the External Detector Method (EDM) and the LA–ICP–MS apatite fission track (LAFT) approach, with tools for repositioning and calibration to the external detector. Two other tools are designed for large crystals, such as the Durango age standard and U-doped glass external detectors. These protocols generate a regular grid of points and inspect if each point is suitable for analysis. Both protocols also include an option to image each withheld point. One more protocol is included for the measurement of etch pit diameters and one last protocol prepares a list of coordinates for correlative microscopy. In a following phase of development TRACKFlow can be expanded towards fully autonomous calibration, grain detection and imaging