title: Label free cell-tracking and division detection based on 2D time-lapse images for lineage analysis of early embryo development.
abstract: In this paper we report a database and a series of techniques related to the problem of tracking cells, and detecting their divisions, in time-lapse movies of mammalian embryos. Our contributions are (1) a method for counting embryos in a well, and cropping each individual embryo across frames, to create individual movies for cell tracking; (2) a semi-automated method for cell tracking that works up to the 8-cell stage, along with a software implementation available to the public (this software was used to build the reported database); (3) an algorithm for automatic tracking up to the 4-cell stage, based on histograms of mirror symmetry coefficients captured using wavelets; (4) a cell-tracking database containing 100 annotated examples of mammalian embryos up to the 8-cell stage; and (5) statistical analysis of various timing distributions obtained from those examples.
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, United States. Electronic address: mc4527@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cicconet
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, United States.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gutwein
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, United States.
authors.forename: Kristin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Gunsalus
authors.affiliation: Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, United States.
authors.forename: Davi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Geiger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001757:Blastomeres / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice
keywords: Cell counting; Database; Dynamic programming; Embryo development; Event detection; Time series; Tracking