Automatic Reconstruction of 3D Dendritic Structures

from Optical Light Microscopy Serial Stacks

Project outline and aims

The aim of this project is to build a fully automated system for recognition of 3D structure of neurons from optical microscope images. It will use a novel approach towards automatic reconstruction by a real time closed loop system involving a motorised microscope guided by the image analysis and reconstruction engine. The latter will combine a form of constraint satisfaction with statistical feature detection and tracking using Stochastic Diffusion Search, a distributed probabilistic system for the best-fit matching problem. The project will develop an image analysis technique that will recognise elements of the dendritic structure present in the image and will flag them with the orientation and connectivity information most consistent with the information present in the image. This technique will be subsequently extended towards multiple images taken from a single slice at different depths and finally embedded in the 3D automatic reconstruction system.

The project is funded by the EPSRC, under a grant awarded to Dr S.J. Nasuto in the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading. The EPSRC reference is GR/S55897/01. Professor S.J. Maybank is Co-investigator, Dr S.J. Nasuto is the Principal Investigator and Dr Angelo Zizzari is a postdoctoral researcher funded by the project. The project began in February 2004 and will run for three years.