Counting Cell

Yang Wang, Pei Qi

Motivation

The biomedical department is conducting a research on the study of iron
absorption in the blood cells of an orphan.  Studying iron absorption
requires work in counting number of iron contained blood cells from a
photonic image.  So far, hand counting is only method being used. 
However, due to high vulnerability in human error and large time
consumption, better and more effective image processing software is
needed.  The main objective of this project is to explore and develop
such software to solve this problem.  Furthermore, our scope might go
beyond this project.  It is also our interests to use such a technique
to continue our exploration and probably solve a more general task in
object recognition in the future. 

Objectives

To develop an image processing programs to accomplish automate counting
process.  

Abstract

Since this software will be used by a biomedical researcher, we would
like the user to have total control over his or her experiment.  First,
we would like the user to load an image in the software.  Then, it will
scan the image and ask the user to select a sample of a specific object
of certain color to count with.  Based on the range of hue level of
user's selection, the program will search and find all the similar shape
and color contained in the image.  User can choose to delete or add any
object with his or her choice.  After the selection is finalized, the
program will calculate the total number of wanted object in the image. 

On the technical side, after an image is loaded and sub-image is
selected by the user, first, the program will run an autocorrelation
between the image and sub-image.  Then, it will select out the wanted
pixel and deselect the unwanted ones based on a specific threshold of
the autocorrelation result.  Base on the selection, the image is changed
into a binary image.  Then, it imposes the binary image on the original
image so that the user can compare and add or delete any shape.  After
the change is finalized, an erosion technique will be used to change all
the wanted shape into a single pixel.  The sum of the single pixels will
be the number of wanted object.