Microscopic Image Analysis for Cell Biology

显微镜技术的进步使细胞生物学家能够设计实验，产生大量有趣的生物现象的图像。这些图像有时是二维的，但通常是三维的，并且是随着时间的推移而获得的，就像3D视频一样。需要对这些图像进行研究和分析，以便能够解释实验结果。这是非常劳动密集型的，因此对能够自动分析图像的计算机软件的需求越来越大。这很有挑战性，因为即使在单一类型的实验中，图像也是高度可变的。图像的尺度也不同，从单个细胞内活动的图像到整个移动的细胞群体的图像序列。在这个项目中，专门开发图像分析软件的计算机科学家将与生命科学家合作开发这种自动化。他们将利用计算机视觉和机器学习的最新发展，使计算机能够从例子中学习如何解释图像。将探索几条合作路线，最初的重点是分析使用荧光显微镜获得的基于细胞的分析图像。开发的软件将通过一个名为Omero的大型开放软件项目提供给研究人员。

Advances in microscopy technology are enabling cell biologists to design experiments which generate very large numbers of images of interesting biological phenomena. These images are sometimes two-dimensional but are often in three dimensions and are acquired over time, like 3D video. Such images need to be studied and analysed so that the results of the experiments can be interpreted. This is very labour intensive so there is a growing need for computer software that can analyse the images automatically. This is challenging because the images are highly variable even within a single type of experiment. Images also vary in scale from images taken of activity within a single cell to image sequences of entire moving populations of cells. In this project, computer scientists specialising in developing software to analyse images will work with life scientists to develop this automation. They will make use of recent developments in computer vision and machine learning which enable computers to learn from examples how to interpret images. Several lines of collaboration will be explored with an initial focus on analysing images of cell-based assays obtain using fluorescence microscopy. Software developed will be made available to researchers via a large open software project called OMERO.