Manual

This tool allows for extraction of image series from Olympus Slide Scanners. These VSI files usually contain several images that are too big to load into memory (>50k x 50k pixels). It was written and tested on Fiji and is available from a Fiji Update Site: http://fiji.sc/List_of_update_sites

A simple workflow is described in the following for measuring subcellular localizations of organelle by the distance from the nucleus. For example, you can quantify how far some type of vesicles or protein aggregates are apart from the nucleus border. This workflow is for analyzing 3D data.

Data requirements:

• 3D data, 2 channels
• Channel 1: nucleus stain = Channel 2: stain for marker you want to quantify the distance to nucleus for

Workflow:

1. Nucleus detection: Imaris

• Add a new SURFACE object, name it "nuclei"
• Follow the object detection wizard to segment nucleus objects

2. Marker object detection: Imaris

• Add a new SURFACE object
• Follow the object detection wizard to segment nucleus objects

3. Creating of distance map channel: Imaris

• In the image processing menu, go to SurfacesFunctions>>Distance Transformation

4. MATLAB:

• select nucleus objects and "distance outside objects"
• A new image channel should be created now by the Matlab script

5. Distance measurement

• The generated distance map channel represents the distance from the nucleus border in pixel values. Thus, the distance of an organelle from the nucleus is equivalent to its mean gray value of the distance map channel.
  For distance measurement, just export the mean gray value of the distance channel for each object.

** Please note:**
In the described workflow, the distance is always calculated to the closest nucleus border. This could be also the nucleus of a neighboring cell, which generates some error. A more complex approach to avoid this error would incorporate a cell segmentation step to assign certain organelle objects to certain cells. Therefore, a cell region marker is needed.

[no download link, this description itself explains the steps to quantify staining in tissue sections] The Color Deconvolution plugin for ImageJ can be used to digitally separate up to three stains from brightfield images, after which standard ImageJ commands can be used. The algorithm is described in Ruifork and Johnston (2001). **However**, it is **very** important to take into consideration the caveats on the linked URL. In particular, note that: - Stain colors depend on numerous factors, such as the precise stains and scanner; therefore, the 'default' stain vectors (used to define the colors) are unlikely to be optimal and may be very inaccurate. See the URL instructions for how to create new stain vectors. - Pixel values should be interpreted with extreme caution; in particular, note the warning regarding 'brown' staining that *attempting to quantify DAB intensity using this plugin is not a good idea*. Note, the pixel values provided by this plugin are 8-bit and **not** equivalent to 'optical densities' frequently presented in the literature. Color deconvolution is particularly helpful in separating stains so that stained regions can be detected (e.g. by setting a threshold), and then the number or areas of stained structures may be quantified. Two potential approaches would be: 1. If one measurement should be made for the entire image: - *Image > Adjust > Threshold...* - *Edit > Selection > Create Selection* - *Analyze > Measure* 2. If distinct structures should be measured: - *Image > Adjust > Threshold...* - *Analyze > Analyze Particles...*

Generation of Kymographs using 2D+t images. In the generated kymographs, objects can be tracked and the results are visualized.

A commercial image analysis software. It's interface allows to easily perform measurements and image analysis. Your actions can be recorded and a macro (in a basic script language) can then be created. Almost no knowledge in programming is needed. You can also use python. A SDK is also available to develop stand alone applications in c++. Additional modules allow to use specific operations (3D operators... Examples of available categories of operators : filtering, edge detection, mathematical morphology, segmentation, Frequency operations, mathematical/logical operations, measurements...