Identification and classification of virus particles in textured electron micrographs

A method of identification and characterization of structures, comprising:

• selecting structures in a first image, the structures having a first physical shape deformed in a first direction, the structures consisting essentially of infectious agents, proteins, antibodies and liposomes;
• changing the selected structures to a second physical shape different from the first physical shape;
• using the transformed structures of the second physical shape to form a plurality of templates;
• identifying a new structure in a second image, the new structure having the first physical shape;
• deforming each template in the first direction;
• determining which template is a preferred template that best matches the first physical shape of the new structure;
• and
• deforming a plurality of templates to a shape of a new asymmetrical shaped structure and testing each deformed template to verify that the preferred template most accurately matches the new asymmetrical shaped structure in the second image.