Image analysis
AssigneeHelicos BioSciences Corporation
InventorAnastasia Tyurina
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Images with closely spaced objects can be processed using a deblending procedure that includes the calculation of some moments and centroids of intensity data. Methods and apparatus for performing this processing are well-suited for use in DNA sequencing, where the locations of fluorescing nucleotides appearing in images must be compared across several images and can be very close to one another in any single image. The increased accuracy and resolution provided by embodiments of the invention reveals previously undetected or misdetected fluorescing nucleotides, thereby facilitating the sequencing process. Embodiments of the invention can be used in other applications where, for example, defects in testing apparatus and/or limitations on image resolution frustrate subsequent analyses.
Claims43
A method for identifying objects in an image, the method comprising the steps of:
- selecting an object present in an image;
- determining a plurality of moments associated with said object;
- determining whether said plurality of moments is characteristic of a single object or multiple objects.
Image analysis apparatus for use in a single-molecule detection system, the image processing apparatus comprising:
- an image capture subsystem for receiving optical information from a plurality of nucleic acid sequences adhered to a surface and for generating a first set of data representative of the optical information;
- first software code for processing the first set of data to create a second set of data representative of a two-dimensional field pattern that includes a plurality of original centroids, each of at least some of the original centroids being associated with a single molecule of one of the nucleic acid sequences;
- second software code for processing at least one of the first or second sets of data to determine if any of the original centroids should be replaced by two or more replacement centroids, the second software code creating a third set of data representative of a replacement two-dimensional field pattern that includes the replacement centroids and any remaining original centroids;
- and
- third software code for processing the third set of data to determine if each of the centroids in the replacement two-dimensional field pattern is associated with a single molecule of one of the nucleic acid sequences.
An image analysis method for use in connection with a single-molecule detection system, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving optical information from a plurality of nucleic acid sequences adhered to a surface;
- generating a first set of data representative of the optical information;
- processing the first set of data to create a second set of data representative of a two-dimensional field pattern that includes a plurality of original centroids, each of at least some of the original centroids being associated with a single molecule of one of the nucleic acid sequences;
- processing at least one of the first or second sets of data to determine if any of the original centroids should be replaced by two or more replacement centroids;
- creating a third set of data representative of a replacement two-dimensional field pattern that includes the replacement centroids and any remaining original centroids;
- and
- processing the third set of data to determine if each of the centroids in the replacement two-dimensional field pattern is associated with a single molecule of one of the nucleic acid sequences.
An image analysis method comprising the steps of:
- providing a representation of a template image, the template image including a plurality of template objects, and the representation including template object intensity data associated with each template object and template object centroids;
- performing a deblending procedure on the representation of the template image, the deblending procedure comprising the computation of several template moments and the generation of a template parameter;
- providing a representation of a sample image, the sample image including a plurality of sample objects, and the representation including sample object intensity data associated with each sample object and sample object centroids;
- performing a deblending procedure on the representation of the sample image, the deblending procedure comprising the computation of several sample moments and the generation of a sample parameter;
- and
- determining whether the sample parameter is substantially equal to the template parameter.
An article of manufacture comprising a program storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for performing image analysis, the computer readable program code in the article of manufacture including:
- computer readable code for causing a computer to provide a representation of a template image, the template image including a plurality of template objects, and the representation including template object intensity data associated with each template object and template object centroids;
- computer readable code for causing a computer to perform a deblending procedure on the representation of the template image, the deblending procedure comprising the computation of several template moments and the generation of a template parameter;
- computer readable code for causing a computer to provide a representation of a sample image, the sample image including a plurality of sample objects, and the representation including sample object intensity data associated with each sample object and sample object centroids;
- computer readable code for causing a computer to perform a deblending procedure on the representation of the sample image, the deblending procedure comprising the computation of several sample moments and the generation of a sample parameter;
- and
- computer readable code for causing a computer to determine whether the sample parameter is substantially equal to the template parameter, so as to provide the image analysis.
A program storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for performing image analysis, the method steps comprising:
- providing a representation of a template image, the template image including a plurality of template objects, and the representation including template object intensity data associated with each template object and template object centroids;
- performing a deblending procedure on the representation of the template image, the deblending procedure comprising the computation of several template moments and the generation of a template parameter;
- providing a representation of a sample image, the sample image including a plurality of sample objects, and the representation including sample object intensity data associated with each sample object and sample object centroids;
- performing a deblending procedure on the representation of the sample image, the deblending procedure comprising the computation of several sample moments and the generation of a sample parameter;
- and
- determining whether the sample parameter is substantially equal to the template parameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.