title: Robust microbial cell segmentation by optical-phase thresholding with minimal processing requirements.
abstract: High-throughput imaging with single-cell resolution has enabled remarkable discoveries in cell physiology and Systems Biology investigations. A common, and often the most challenging step in all such imaging implementations, is the ability to segment multiple images to regions that correspond to individual cells. Here, a robust segmentation strategy for microbial cells using Quantitative Phase Imaging is reported. The proposed method enables a greater than 99% yeast cell segmentation success rate, without any computationally-intensive, post-acquisition processing. We also detail how the method can be expanded to bacterial cell segmentation with 98% success rates with substantially reduced processing requirements in comparison to existing methods. We attribute this improved performance to the remarkably uniform background, elimination of cell-to-cell and intracellular optical artifacts, and enhanced signal-to-background ratio-all innate properties of imaging in the optical-phase domain. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alanazi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Canul
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quimby
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 83844.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Vasdekis
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology*; D002452:Cell Count; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics*; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods
keywords: image cytometry; label free; segmentation; single-cell