Interactive Real-time Image Analysis System for Distant Operation

This paper reports on the development and implementation of an integrated and interactive system for cell analysis featuring remote operation and real-time analysis for generating analytical data from microscopic images. The system consists of a number of image processing modules implemented in a virtual instrumentation environment, combined with novel techniques developed for thinning and local edge-gap filling in the cell image segmentation process. These approaches, integrated with advances in networking, have been initially applied to viral feature analysis in SARS-CoV microscopy. Real-time operation through the user-interface of the proposed system generates quantitative results for remote clients. The rapidity and viability of operation permit the investigation of mutant viral agents on the basis of their morphological cell features.