A Novel Quantitative Approach for Eliminating Sample-To-Sample Variation Using a Hue Saturation Value Analysis Program

OBJECTIVES: As computing technology and image analysis techniques have advanced, the practice of histology has grown from a purely qualitative method to one that is highly quantified. Current image analysis software is imprecise and prone to wide variation due to common artifacts and histological limitations. In order to minimize the impact of these artifacts, a more robust method for quantitative image analysis is required. METHODS AND RESULTS: Here we present a novel image analysis software, based on the hue saturation value color space, to be applied to a wide variety of histological stains and tissue types. By using hue, saturation, and value variables instead of the more common red, green, and blue variables, our software offers some distinct advantages over other commercially available programs. We tested the program by analyzing several common histological stains, performed on tissue sections that ranged from 4 µm to 10 µm in thickness, using both a red green blue color space and a hue saturation value color space. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that our new software is a simple method for quantitative analysis of histological sections, which is highly robust to variations in section thickness, sectioning artifacts, and stain quality, eliminating sample-to-sample variation.