EP0595506A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automated detection of cancerous or precancerous tissue by measuring malignancy associated changes
Assignee: Oncometrics Imaging Corp
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Filing: 1993-10-14
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2013-10-14
Abstract
Abstract An appatatus and a method for detecting malignancy associated changes relies on use of the microscope having a high sampling density light transducer. Images of the cell nuclei are obtained in precise focus. The images are segmented using a relocation algorithm for precisely locating the edge of the nucleus. The features of the images including DNA distribution are analyzed using multivariate analysis to detect malignance associated changes.
Inventors
- 👤 Calum Macaulay
- 👤 Branko Palcic
- 👤 David Garner
- 👤 Alan Harrison
- 👤 Bruno Jaggi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 02:28
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N33/00; G01N33/48; G01N33/50; G01N33/5005; G01N33/5091; G01N15/00; G01N15/10; G01N15/14; G01N15/1429; G01N15/1433; G01N33/5008; G01N33/5014; G01N33/5017; G06; G06V; G06V20/00; G06V20/60; G06V20/69
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
Apparatus for detecting malignancy associated changes in cells comprising: a microscope having a high sampling density light transducer optically connected to the primary image plane; an imaging board associated with the transducer to capture and process digitized images from the light transducer; means for determining precise and reproducible focus of images by maximizing contrast of the images; thresholding means; software means for relocating the edges of nuclei in the image; and, means for analyzing features of the images by using multivariate analysis comprising cluster analysis leading to a decision tree composed of thresholds and discriminant functions.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising means for adjusting the location of edges of the nuclei as a function of each feature to be analyzed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
79 words
Apparatus for detecting malignancy associated changes in cells comprising: a microscope having a high sampling density light transducer; an imaging board associated with the transducer to capture and process digitized images from the light transducer; means for determining precise and reproducible focus of images by maximizing contrast of the images; thresholding means; software means for relocating the edges of nuclei in the image; and, means for analyzing features of the images by using multivariate analysis comprising a neural network.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus as in claim 3 further comprising means for adjusting the location of edges of the nuclei as a function of each feature to be analyzed.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
160 words
A method of detecting malignancy associated changes in cells comprising the steps of: (a) providing a microscope having a high sampling density light transducer and an imaging board for processing images from the light transducer; (b) acquiring precise and reproducible focus of a nucleus in the image from the microscope by maximizing contrast of the nuclear material as a function of focal position; (c) thresholding the image such that the threshold mask includes at least all of the edges of the nucleus to obtain a first approximation of the real edge of the nucleus; (d) determining the real edge of the nucleus by step by step removal of pixels with the least gradient so as not to break continuous contour around the nucleus; (e) analyzing features of the image including DNA distribution of the cell nuclei; (f) performing multivariate analysis of the image of the nucleus comprising cluster analysis leading to a decision tree composed of thresholds and discriminant functions.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as in claim 5 comprising the additional step of adjusting the location of the edges of the nucleus as a function of each feature to be analyzed.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
161 words
A method of detecting malignancy associated changes in cells comprising the steps of: (a) providing a microscope having a high sampling density light transducer optically connected to the primary image plane of the microscope and an imaging board for processing images from the light transducer; (b) acquiring precise and reproducible focus of a nucleus in the image from the microscope by maximizing contrast of the nuclear material as a function of focal position; (c) thresholding the image such that the threshold mask includes at least all of the edges of the nucleus to obtain a first approximation of the real edge of the nucleus; (d) determining the real edge of the nucleus by step by step removal of pixels with the least gradient so as not to break a continuous contour around the nucleus; (e) analyzing features of the image including DNA distribution of the cell nuclei; (f) performing multivariate analysis of the image of the nucleus comprising a neural network.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as in claim 7 comprising the additional step of adjusting the location of the edges of the nucleus as a function of each feature to be analyzed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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