Cell screening method and device, electronic equipment and computer program product

By automatically determining the distance between the cells to be screened and the reference cells, automatic batch screening and cutting of target cells are achieved, solving the low efficiency problem of manual labeling and improving the efficiency of biological tissue analysis.

CN120807435AActive Publication Date: 2025-10-17HONG KONG BIPO BIOTECHNOLOGY CO LTD +1
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510902956.9
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-06-30
Publication Date
2025-10-17
Estimated Expiration
2045-06-30

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In the existing technology, the screening of target cells based on manual labeling is inefficient, which affects the efficiency of biological tissue analysis.

Method used

By acquiring the mask image output by the cell imaging system, the distance between the cells to be screened and the reference cells is automatically determined, automatic batch screening of target cells is achieved, and a mask image is generated and output to the cell cutting system.

Benefits of technology

It improves the efficiency of cell screening and cutting, and improves the efficiency of biological tissue analysis.

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Abstract

The invention discloses a cell screening method and device, electronic equipment and a computer program product, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining a first image and a second image; based on the first image and the second image, determining a first reference cell corresponding to each to-be-screened cell in the one or more to-be-screened cells from the one or more reference cells, and determining a first distance between each to-be-screened cell in the one or more to-be-screened cells and the corresponding first reference cell; based on the determined one or more first distances, screening one or more target cells from the one or more to-be-screened cells to generate a third image, and outputting the third image to the cell cutting system; the third image characterizes a mask image for displaying the cell profile of the one or more target cells.
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Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of computer, and particularly relates to a cell screening method and device, electronic equipment and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of image processing technology, researchers can analyze biological tissues based on the processing of imaging images of biological tissues, so as to further carry out life science research and clinical diagnosis. In actual application, target cells to be analyzed can be screened from cells contained in the imaging image, and then the target cells are cut by a cell cutting system, and the cut target cells are analyzed to realize the analysis of biological tissues.

[0003] In the related art, in the process of screening target cells, the spatial relationship between each cell to be screened in the imaging image and other cells outside the cell to be screened is labeled based on a manual labeling manner, and then the spatial relationship corresponding to each cell to be screened is matched with a fixed screening condition to perform cell screening based on the matching result. However, the manual labeling manner is relatively cumbersome, and the imaging image often contains a large number of cells to be screened, which leads to low screening efficiency, and further affects the analysis efficiency of biological tissues. SUMMARY

[0004] To solve the problems in the related art, the embodiments of the present application provide a cell screening method, device, electronic equipment and computer program product.

[0005] The technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application is implemented as follows:

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a cell screening method, which comprises:

[0007] obtaining a first image and a second image; the first image represents a mask image output by a cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue; the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more reference cells in the target tissue; the reference cells are used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened;

[0008] determining, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened from the one or more reference cells, and determining a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell;

[0009] screen one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined one or more first distances, to generate a third image and output the third image to a cell cutting system; the third image represents a mask image for displaying a cell contour of the one or more target cells.

[0010] The embodiment of the present application further provides a cell screening device, which comprises:

[0011] An acquisition unit is configured to acquire a first image and a second image; the first image represents a mask image output by a cell imaging system after performing cell contour identification on one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue; the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after performing cell contour identification on one or more reference cells in the target tissue; the reference cells are used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened.

[0012] A determination unit is configured to determine, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened from the one or more cells to be screened, and determine a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell.

[0013] A screening unit is configured to screen one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined one or more first distances, to generate a third image and output the third image to a cell cutting system; the third image represents a mask image for displaying a cell contour of the one or more target cells.

[0014] The embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, which comprises a processor and a memory for storing a computer program capable of running on the processor,

[0015] When the processor runs the computer program, the processor is configured to perform the steps of the above method.

[0016] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program, and the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the above method when executed by a processor.

[0017] In the embodiment of the present application, the first image and the second image are obtained. The first image represents a mask image output by a cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue, and the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more reference cells in the target tissue, the reference cells being used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened. Then, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened is determined from the one or more reference cells, and a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell is determined. Subsequently, based on the determined one or more first distances, one or more target cells are screened from the one or more cells to be screened to generate a third image and output the third image to a cell cutting system, wherein the third image represents a mask image for displaying the cell contour of the one or more target cells. In the above scheme, based on the mask image output by the cell imaging system, the first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell is automatically determined, so that compared with the related art, the spatial relationship between the cells to be screened and the corresponding reference cells can also be determined without manual annotation. On this basis, the target cells are screened from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined first distance, realizing automatic batch screening of cells in the target tissue, improving the screening efficiency. Further, after the target cells are screened, the corresponding mask image is generated and output to the cell cutting system, thereby improving the cell cutting efficiency and improving the adverse effect of the related art on the analysis efficiency of biological tissues. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 An implementation process schematic diagram of cell screening provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a first image provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a third image provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a fourth image provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a sixth image provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a first interface provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 7A structural schematic diagram of a cell screening device provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 8 A structural schematic diagram of a hardware composition of an electronic device provided for an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] With the development of image processing technology, researchers can analyze biological tissues based on the processing of imaging images of the biological tissues, so as to further carry out life science research and clinical diagnosis. In actual application, target cells to be analyzed can be first screened from cells contained in the imaging images, and then the target cells are cut by a cell cutting system, and the cut target cells are analyzed to realize the analysis of the biological tissues.

[0027] In the related art, in the process of screening target cells, the spatial relationship between each to-be-screened cell in the imaging image and other cells outside the to-be-screened cell is labeled based on a manual labeling manner, and then the spatial relationship corresponding to each to-be-screened cell is matched with a fixed screening condition to perform cell screening based on the matching result. However, the manual labeling manner is relatively cumbersome, and the imaging image often contains a large number of to-be-screened cells, which leads to a low screening efficiency, and further affects the analysis efficiency of the biological tissues.

[0028] Based on this, in the embodiments of the present application, the first image and the second image are obtained; the first image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more cells to be screened in the target tissue, and the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more reference cells in the target tissue, and the reference cells are used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened; then, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened is determined from the one or more reference cells, and a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell is determined; then, based on the determined one or more first distances, one or more target cells are screened from the one or more cells to be screened to generate a third image and output the third image to the cell cutting system, wherein the third image represents a mask image for displaying the cell contour of the one or more target cells. In the above scheme, based on the mask image output by the cell imaging system, the first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell is automatically determined, so that compared with the related art, the spatial relationship between the cells to be screened and the corresponding reference cells can also be determined without manual annotation, and on this basis, the target cells are screened from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined first distance, realizing automatic batch screening of cells in the target tissue, improving the screening efficiency, and further, the present application generates the corresponding mask image after screening the target cells and outputs the mask image to the cell cutting system, thereby improving the cell cutting efficiency and improving the adverse effects of the related art on the analysis efficiency of biological tissues.

[0029] The present application will be described in further detail below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments.

[0030] The present application provides a cell screening method, which can be applied to an image processing system outside the cell imaging system and the cell cutting system in practical application, and the image processing system can be used as a plug-in between the cell imaging system and the cell cutting system.

[0031] In practical application, the image processing system can receive the image output by the cell imaging system based on the target tissue, and then perform corresponding image processing, for example, cell screening processing, and then output the file to the cell cutting system, so that the cell cutting system can cut the cells in the target tissue. In this way, in the case that the output of the cell imaging system is incompatible with the input required by the cell cutting system, the image processing system can perform conversion through related processing, improving the flexibility and efficiency of cell cutting, and further improving the flexibility and efficiency of analysis of the target tissue.

[0032] The image processing system can have a cell screening function, and the image processing system can also be referred to as a cell screening system for highlighting the cell screening function of the image processing system.

[0033] Referring to Figure 1 The cell screening method provided in the embodiments of the present application comprises the following steps.

[0034] Step 101: Obtain a first image and a second image.

[0035] The first image represents a mask image output by a cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue; and the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more reference cells in the target tissue; the reference cells are used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened.

[0036] Here, the target tissue can be understood as a biological tissue that a user needs to analyze. For example, the user can include a researcher, and the biological tissue can include a pathological tissue. The user can perform tumor microenvironment or spatial proteomics analysis based on the target tissue.

[0037] In actual application, the cell imaging system can perform microscopic imaging on the cells in the target tissue to generate a scanning image. After generating the scanning image, the cell imaging system can directly output the scanning image, or output the scanning image after optimization processing. The scanning image after optimization processing can also be referred to as an analysis image. For example, the optimization processing can include at least one or more of the following: saturation adjustment, brightness adjustment. In the following, for ease of description, the image output by the cell imaging system after cell imaging processing on the target tissue is referred to as an imaging image, that is, the scanning image and the analysis image are both referred to as imaging images, and the imaging image can include one or more imaged cells.

[0038] In actual application, the cell imaging system can recognize the contour of the cells in the target tissue, and then output a mask image based on the recognized cell contour.

[0039] The mask image can be represented as a binary image, that is, each pixel in the mask image has only two values. Each pixel can be used to operate the pixel at the same position in the imaging image to indicate the target region of the cell in the imaging image, and the contour of the region can be regarded as the cell contour.

[0040] Exemplarily, the value of each pixel in the mask image can include: 0 or 1; wherein the pixel with the value of 0 represents a black pixel, which can be used to convert the pixel at the same position in the imaging image into dark color, which is equivalent to weakening the image content at the same pixel position in the imaging image; the pixel with the value of 1 represents a white pixel, which can be used to maintain the color of the pixel at the same position in the imaging image, which is equivalent to preserving the content at the same pixel position in the imaging image. The white region in the mask image can represent the image region where the cell is located. It should be noted that the values of 0 or 1 are only examples, and in actual application, the values corresponding to the pixels can also be set to 0 or 255, wherein the pixel with the value of 0 represents a black pixel, and the value of 255 represents a white pixel, which is not limited here.

[0041] In actual application, the mask image can be directly superimposed on the imaging image to obtain a superimposed image, which can only include the cells indicated by the mask image, so that the user can observe the image content corresponding to the cells indicated by the mask image without being disturbed by other image content. The mask image can also be superimposed on the imaging image with a set transparency to obtain a superimposed image, and in the superimposed image, the color brightness of the image content corresponding to the cells indicated by the mask image can be higher than that of other image content in the superimposed image, so that the user can observe the entire image content of the imaging image while intuitively and quickly observing the image content corresponding to the cells indicated by the mask image.

[0042] In actual application, the cell imaging system can determine the cells to be subjected to cell contour recognition and / or cell imaging based on the cell selection indication input by the user, and output the mask image and / or the imaging image corresponding to the cells. Exemplarily, the cell selection indication input by the user into the cell imaging system can be used to instruct the cell imaging system to process the star-shaped cells, and the cell imaging system can perform cell contour recognition and / or cell imaging on one or more star-shaped cells in the target tissue based on the cell selection indication, and output the corresponding mask image and / or imaging image.

[0043] In actual application, the cells in the first image and the second image can be determined by the cell imaging system based on different cell selection indications input by the user.

[0044] The user can determine the cells in the target tissue as the cells to be screened or the reference cells based on his own needs, and then input the first cell selection indication to the cell imaging system to make the cell imaging system output the first image, and input the second cell selection indication to the cell imaging system to make the cell imaging system output the second image.

[0045] The one or more cells to be screened in the target tissue can include one or more cells to be analyzed for user intent analysis, and the reference cells in the target tissue can provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened, so that the subject executing the method of the embodiments of the present application screens the cells to be analyzed, i.e., target cells, from the one or more cells to be screened.

[0046] It should be noted that the user can not explicitly know the location of the cell in the target tissue when determining the cell. For example, the user can only determine the cell types corresponding to the cells to be screened and the reference cells.

[0047] For example, in the case where the user intends to analyze the astrocytes close to the cancer cells, the user can determine the astrocytes of this type of cell as the cells to be screened, and the cancer cells of this type of cell as the reference cells. Then, the user can input a first cell selection instruction to the cell imaging system to output a first image after the cell imaging system identifies the cell contours of the astrocytes, and the user can input a second cell selection instruction to the cell imaging system to output a second image after the cell imaging system identifies the cell contours of the cancer cells.

[0048] Step 102: determining, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each of the one or more cells to be screened from the one or more reference cells, and determining a first distance between each of the one or more cells to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell;

[0049] In practical applications, the spatial relationship of each of the cells to be screened can be determined with reference to the corresponding specific reference cell, i.e., the corresponding first reference cell. The first reference cell can be the reference cell with the shortest center distance from the corresponding cell to be screened among the one or more reference cells, and the center distance can be understood as the geometric center distance.

[0050] In practical applications, the first distance can be used to describe the spatial relationship between the cell to be screened and the first reference cell. The first distance between the cell to be screened and the first reference cell can more accurately describe the spatial relationship between the cell to be screened and the first reference cell than the center distance between the cell to be screened and the first reference cell.

[0051] Step 103: screening one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the one or more determined first distances to generate a third image and output the third image to the cell cutting system.

[0052] The third image represents a mask image for displaying the cell contours of the one or more target cells.

[0053] In actual applications, the first distance corresponding to each cell to be screened can be judged based on a set condition, and it is determined whether the cell to be screened is a target cell based on the judgment result, so as to screen one or more target cells from one or more cells to be screened. For example, the set condition can include that the first distance is within a set distance interval.

[0054] After one or more target cells are screened, image content related to the target cells in the first image can be processed to generate a third image. For example, the image area in the first image where the target cells are located can be saved as the third image.

[0055] Here, Figure 2 An example of a first image is provided, and the white area in the first image can be understood as an image area where one or more cells to be screened are located. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can screen one or more target cells from one or more cells to be screened in the first image, and then generate a third image. For example, the generated third image can be as shown in Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 3 The white area in the image shown can be understood as an image area where the target cells are located.

[0056] After obtaining the third image, the third image can be directly output to the cell cutting system. After receiving the third image, the cell cutting system can cut out the cell entity in the target tissue, and the cut-out cell entity corresponds to the target cell, so that the user can further analyze the target tissue.

[0057] After obtaining the third image, the third image can also be adjusted and processed, and then the third image after the adjustment and processing is output to the cell cutting system, so that the cell cutting system can more accurately cut out the target cell. For example, the adjustment and processing can include expanding the cell contour in the third image by a set number of pixels, so that the image area related to the cell indicated in the third image can contain a complete cell, thereby ensuring the integrity of the cell cut out by the cell cutting system and improving the accuracy and efficiency of the analysis of the target tissue.

[0058] After obtaining the third image, the third image can also be superimposed on the imaging image corresponding to the target tissue, so that the user can intuitively observe the screening result.

[0059] In an embodiment, after the third image is generated, the cell screening method provided by the embodiments of the present application further includes:

[0060] The third image is superimposed on the fourth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image, and the fifth image is output; the fourth image represents an image output by the cell imaging system after the cell imaging system performs cell imaging processing on the target tissue.​​

[0061] Here, the fourth image can be understood as an imaging image corresponding to the target tissue.

[0062] In actual application, the third image can be superimposed on the fourth image with a set transparency by calling the set first function instruction to process the third image and the fourth image. For example, the first function instruction can include “cv2.addWeighted”, and the set transparency can be 0.5.

[0063] In the fifth image, the color brightness of the target cell indicated by the third image can be higher than the image content corresponding to the non-target cell in the fifth image. In this way, the user can intuitively and quickly observe the image content corresponding to the target cell while observing the entire image content of the fifth image, without the need to frequently switch images to observe the third image and the fifth image respectively, so as to conveniently review the screening result, and improve the accuracy and efficiency of the analysis of the target tissue.

[0064] In actual application, after obtaining the third image, the cell areas of each target cell in the third image can be counted, and the counted data can be saved as a first file, and then the first file can be output. For example, the first file can be a comma-separated values (CSV) file. In this way, the user can analyze the cell areas of each target cell based on the first file, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of the analysis of the target tissue.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, based on the mask image output by the cell imaging system, the first distance between each to-be-screened cell and the corresponding first reference cell is automatically determined, so that compared with the related art, the spatial relationship between the to-be-screened cell and the corresponding reference cell can also be determined without manual annotation, and on this basis, the target cell is screened from one or more to-be-screened cells based on the determined first distance, thereby realizing automatic batch screening of cells in the target tissue, improving the screening efficiency, and further, after the target cell is screened, the corresponding mask image is generated and output to the cell cutting system, thereby improving the cell cutting efficiency and improving the adverse effect of the related art on the analysis efficiency of the biological tissue.

[0066] The determination method of the first distance will be further described below.

[0067] In an embodiment, based on the first image and the second image, the first reference cell corresponding to each to-be-screened cell in the one or more to-be-screened cells is determined from the one or more reference cells, and the first distance between each to-be-screened cell in the one or more to-be-screened cells and the corresponding first reference cell is determined, including:

[0068] For each cell to be screened, based on the first image and the second image, a second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells is determined respectively, and based on the one or more second distances obtained, a first reference cell corresponding to the cell to be screened is determined; the first reference cell represents a reference cell corresponding to a minimum second distance among the one or more second distances;

[0069] The second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is compared with a first radius of a first coverage circle of the first reference cell, and based on the comparison result, a first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell is determined; the center of the first coverage circle of the first reference cell represents a geometric center of the first reference cell, and the first coverage circle of the first reference cell covers the first reference cell.

[0070] In actual application, a set second function instruction can be called to process the first image and the second image respectively to determine the geometric centers of each cell to be screened in the first image and the geometric centers of each reference cell in the second image. Exemplarily, the set second function instruction can include “cv2.connectedComponentsWithStats”.

[0071] In actual application, the second distance can represent a distance between the geometric center of the corresponding cell to be screened and the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, in which case the second distance can be understood as a center distance between the cell to be screened and the reference cell.

[0072] In actual application, before determining the second distance corresponding to each cell to be screened, a part of the reference cells can be screened from the one or more reference cells, and then when determining the second distance, only the second distance between each cell to be screened and the screened part of the reference cells is determined, and then based on the second distances, the first reference cell is determined, so as to reduce the calculation amount and improve the cell screening efficiency.

[0073] In an embodiment, before determining the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image, the cell screening method provided by the embodiment of the present application further comprises:

[0074] Screening one or more second reference cells from the one or more reference cells; the cell area of the second reference cell is within a set area interval;

[0075] Correspondingly, based on the first image and the second image, the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells is determined respectively, including:

[0076] The second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more second reference cells is determined based on the first image and the second image.

[0077] In practice, the second image can be processed by invoking a third function instruction to determine the cell area of each reference cell in the second image. For example, the third function instruction can include “cv2.connectedComponentsWithStats”.

[0078] After determining the cell area of each reference cell, the reference cells with the cell area within a set area interval can be screened from the one or more reference cells, that is, the one or more second reference cells are screened.

[0079] In practice, the endpoints of the set area interval can be determined based on the input of the user in the first interface of the cell screening system. In this way, the embodiments of the present application can dynamically determine the area interval for cell screening based on the input of the user, thereby improving the accuracy and flexibility of cell screening.

[0080] In practice, the first coverage circle of the first reference cell can be tangent to at least one point on the cell contour of the first reference cell.

[0081] The comparison result between the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell and the first radius of the first coverage circle of the first reference cell can be used to describe the position of the geometric center of the first reference cell relative to the contour of the first coverage circle, that is, to describe whether the geometric center of the first reference cell is located inside the first coverage circle.

[0082] In an embodiment, the first distance between the cell to be screened and the first reference cell is determined based on the comparison result, comprising:

[0083] In the case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is greater than the first radius, the first difference value is determined as the first distance; the first difference value represents the difference between the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell and the first radius; and / or,

[0084] In the case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is less than the first radius, a set negative value is determined as the first distance; and / or,

[0085] In the case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is equal to the first radius, the first difference value or the set negative value is determined as the first distance.

[0086] In actual application, in the case that the comparison result represents that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is greater than the first radius, it can be considered that the geometric center of the cell to be screened is located outside the first coverage circle of the first reference cell, and in this case, the second distance can also be considered as the shortest distance between the geometric center of the cell to be screened and the first coverage circle.

[0087] In the case that the comparison result represents that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is less than the first radius, it can be considered that the geometric center of the cell to be screened is located inside the first coverage circle of the first reference cell, and in this case, a negative value can be set to indicate that the geometric center of the cell to be screened is located inside the first coverage circle of the first reference cell, that is, to indicate this case. For example, the set negative value can include -1.

[0088] In the case that the comparison result represents that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is equal to the first radius, it can be considered that the geometric center of the cell to be screened is located outside the first coverage circle of the first reference cell, or it can also be considered that the geometric center of the cell to be screened is located inside the first coverage circle of the first reference cell, which can be set according to user demand in actual application, and is not limited here.

[0089] In actual application, there are differences between the cell morphologies of different cells, and the center distance between the cell to be screened and the reference cell cannot accurately describe the spatial relationship corresponding to the cell to be screened. If the center distance between the cell to be screened and the reference cell is directly compared with the set threshold value, and the target cell is screened based on the comparison result, the accuracy of cell screening is easily reduced. For example, assuming that the cell to be screened is a microglia cell and the reference cell is a star cell, in the case that the center distance between the microglia cell and the star cell is greater than the set threshold value, since the star cell has a long synapse, the microglia cell can be close to the synapse part of the star cell, that is, close to the star cell. In this case, if cell screening is performed based on the comparison result between the center distance and the set threshold value, it will be judged that the microglia cell is far away from the star cell, resulting in screening error and reducing the accuracy of cell screening.

[0090] In the embodiments of the present application, the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is compared with the first radius of the first coverage circle of the first reference cell, and the first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell is determined based on the comparison result. That is, the first distance is determined based on the position of the geometric center of the cell to be screened relative to the first coverage circle of the first reference cell. In this way, the first distance can more accurately describe the spatial relationship between the cell to be screened and the first reference cell, and on this basis, cell screening is performed based on the determined first distance, thereby improving the accuracy of cell screening.

[0091] Exemplarily, assuming that the cells to be screened are microglial cells, the reference cells are astrocytes, the center distance between a microglial cell and an astrocyte is greater than a set threshold, and the microglial cell is close to the synaptic site of the astrocyte, and the geometric center of the microglial cell is located in the first coverage circle of the astrocyte, it can be seen that the position of the geometric center of the microglial cell relative to the first coverage circle of the astrocyte can accurately reflect the spatial relationship between the two cells, so the first distance between the microglial cell and the astrocyte can accurately describe the spatial relationship, and on this basis, the cell screening is performed based on the determined first distance, thereby improving the accuracy of the cell screening.

[0092] In an embodiment, based on the determined one or more first distances, one or more target cells are screened from the one or more cells to be screened, including:

[0093] For each of the one or more first distances, in a case where the first distance is located in a set distance interval, the cell to be screened corresponding to the first distance is determined as a target cell.

[0094] In actual application, the endpoints of the set distance interval can be determined based on the input of a user in the first interface of the cell screening system, the left endpoint of the set distance interval can be understood as the minimum value in the distance interval, and the right endpoint of the set distance interval can be understood as the maximum value in the distance interval, so that the distance interval for cell screening can be dynamically determined based on the input of the user, thereby improving the accuracy and flexibility of the cell screening.

[0095] In actual application, if the embodiments of the present application are understood in a visualized manner, the set distance can be regarded as constituting a ring-shaped screening interval corresponding to each cell to be screened.

[0096] Exemplarily, in a case where the left endpoint and the right endpoint of the set distance interval exist, and the value of the left endpoint is not a negative value, the ring-shaped screening interval constituted can be understood as a ring, the center of the ring is represented by the geometric center of the corresponding cell to be screened, the radius of the large circle of the ring is determined based on the right endpoint of the set distance interval, the radius of the small circle of the ring is determined based on the left endpoint of the set distance interval, and the geometric center of the target cell screened based on the set distance interval is located in the coverage range of the corresponding ring.

[0097] Exemplarily, in a case that both the left end point and the right end point of the set distance interval exist, and the value of the left end point is a negative value, and the value of the right end point is not a negative value, the annular screening interval can be understood as a circle, the center of the circle represents the geometric center of the corresponding cell to be screened, and the radius of the circle is determined based on the right end point of the set distance interval. The geometric center of the target cell screened based on the set distance interval is located within the coverage range of the corresponding circle.

[0098] Exemplarily, in a case that the left end point of the set distance interval does not exist, that is, it is infinitesimal, and the right end point exists, the annular screening interval can also be understood as a circle, the center of the circle represents the geometric center of the corresponding cell to be screened, and the radius of the circle is determined based on the right end point of the set distance interval. The geometric center of the target cell screened based on the set distance interval is located within the corresponding circle.

[0099] Exemplarily, in a case that the right end point of the set distance interval does not exist, that is, it is infinite, and the left end point exists, the annular screening interval can also be understood as a circle, the center of the circle represents the geometric center of the corresponding cell to be screened, and the radius of the circle is determined based on the left end point of the set distance interval. The geometric center of the target cell screened based on the set distance interval is located outside the corresponding circle.

[0100] In an embodiment, before superimposing the third image on the fourth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image, the cell screening method provided by the embodiment of the present application further comprises:

[0101] Based on the set distance interval, a first circle frame and / or a second circle frame are labeled for each of the one or more reference cells in the fourth image; wherein,

[0102] The set distance interval is used to screen the target cell from the one or more cells to be screened based on the first distance; the center of the first circle frame and the center of the second circle frame both represent the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the radius of the first circle frame is determined based on a first sum value, the first sum value representing the sum value between the radius of the first coverage circle of the corresponding reference cell and the first end point of the set distance interval, and the radius of the second circle frame is determined based on a second sum value, the second sum value representing the sum value between the radius of the first coverage circle of the corresponding reference cell and the second end point of the set distance interval; the center of the first coverage circle represents the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the first coverage circle covers the corresponding reference cell.

[0103] Here, the first circle frame can be regarded as a circle frame labeled based on the first end point of the set distance interval, and the second circle frame can be regarded as a circle frame labeled based on the second end point of the set distance interval.

[0104] In a case that the first end point is characterized as a left end point, the second end point can be characterized as a right end point, and in a case that the first end point is characterized as a right end point, the second end point can be characterized as a left end point.

[0105] In practical applications, in a case that the first end point of the set distance interval has a negative value, i.e., the first sum value is less than the radius of the first coverage circle of the corresponding reference cell, the radius of the first circle frame can be characterized as the radius of the first coverage circle. In a case that the second end point of the set distance interval has a negative value, i.e., the second sum value is less than the radius of the first coverage circle of the corresponding reference cell, the radius of the second circle frame can be characterized as the radius of the first coverage circle.

[0106] In practical applications, the fourth image can be processed by calling the set fourth function instruction, so as to label the first circle frame and / or the second circle frame for the reference cell in the fourth image. For the convenience of description, the fourth image labeled with the first circle frame and / or the first circle frame can be referred to as a sixth image. Exemplarily, the fourth function instruction can include “cv2.circle”. The outline color of the first circle frame and the outline color of the second circle frame can be characterized as different colors. Exemplarily, the outline color of the first circle frame can be characterized as red. And the outline color of the second circle frame can be characterized as green. The outline line type of the first circle frame and the outline line type of the second circle frame can also be characterized as different line types. Exemplarily, the outline line type of the first circle frame can be characterized as a solid line, and the outline line type of the second circle frame can be characterized as a dashed line.

[0107] Exemplarily, Figure 4 An example of the fourth image is provided. The sixth image obtained after labeling the first circle frame and / or the second circle frame for each of one or more reference cells in the fourth image can be seen from Figure 5 , wherein the circle frame with a solid line as the outline line type corresponds to the first circle frame in the embodiments of the present application, and the circle frame with a dashed line as the outline line type corresponds to the second circle frame in the embodiments of the present application.

[0108] In practical applications, after labeling the first circle frame and / or the second circle frame for each of one or more reference cells in the fourth image, the third image can be superimposed on the sixth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image.

[0109] In practical applications, the first circle frame and / or the second circle frame corresponding to each of the cells to be screened can be used to visualize the annular screening interval corresponding to the cell to be screened. In this way, the user can intuitively observe the comparison between the set distance interval and the first distance of each of the cells to be screened. On this basis, the user can review the screening result based on the observation result, so as to dynamically adjust the subsequent cell screening, for example, dynamically adjust the set distance interval, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of cell screening.

[0110] Based on the above method embodiments, the application further provides an image processing system.

[0111] In actual application, the image processing system can be characterized as an image processing system other than the cell imaging system and the cell cutting system, and the image processing system can be used as a plug-in between the cell imaging system and the cell cutting system.

[0112] In actual application, the image processing system provided by the embodiments of the application can receive the image output by the cell imaging system based on the target tissue, and then perform corresponding image processing, for example, cell screening processing, and then output a file to the cell cutting system, so that the cell cutting system cuts the cells in the target tissue. In this way, in the case that the output of the cell imaging system is incompatible with the input required by the cell cutting system, the image processing system can convert through related processing, thereby improving the flexibility and efficiency of cell cutting, and further improving the flexibility and efficiency of analysis of the target tissue.

[0113] The image processing system can have the function of cell screening, and the image processing system can also be referred to as a cell screening system in order to highlight the cell screening function of the image processing system.

[0114] Here, the image processing system can be used to execute the method in any of the above embodiments to perform cell screening.

[0115] In actual application, the image processing system can include a display module. The display module can be used to display a first interface, and the image processing system can obtain and / or determine information for cell screening based on the operation of the user in the first interface.

[0116] Exemplarily, Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a first interface is provided, and the first interface includes the following input items:

[0117] An Image File (image file) is used for the image processing system to obtain the fourth image in the embodiments of the application. In actual application, the user can input the storage path corresponding to the fourth image through the operation of the input component corresponding to the input item, so that the image processing system obtains the fourth image. The input component corresponding to the input item can be characterized as a file selector.

[0118] A Mask File (mask file) is used for the image processing system to obtain the first image. In actual application, the user can input the storage path corresponding to the first image through the operation of the input component corresponding to the input item, so that the image processing system obtains the first image. The input component corresponding to the input item can be characterized as a file selector.

[0119] Center File (reference file), used for the image processing system to obtain the second image. In practical applications, the user can input the storage path corresponding to the second image through the operation of the input component corresponding to the input item, so that the image processing system obtains the second image. In practical applications, the input component corresponding to the input item can be represented as a file selector.

[0120] d_min (minimum distance), used for the image processing system to determine the left end point in the set distance interval to determine the set distance interval. In practical applications, the input component corresponding to the input item can be represented as an input box.

[0121] d_max (maximum distance), used for the image processing system to determine the right end point in the set distance interval to determine the set distance interval. In practical applications, the input component corresponding to the input item can be represented as an input box.

[0122] area_min (minimum area), used for the image processing system to determine the left end point in the set area interval to determine the set area interval. The input component corresponding to the input item can be represented as an input box.

[0123] area_max (maximum area), used for the image processing system to determine the right end point in the set area interval to determine the set area interval. In practical applications, the input component corresponding to the input item can be represented as an input box.

[0124] Save Folder (save folder), used for the image processing system to determine the output path of the screening result.

[0125] In practical applications, the input component corresponding to the input item can be represented as a folder selector.

[0126] In practical applications, the screening result output to the output path can include one or more of the following: the third image, the fifth image, and the first file. After generating the third image, the image processing system can directly output the third image to the cell cutting system, or output the third image to the output path, or output the third image to both the cell cutting system and the output path.

[0127] The first interface further includes an Execute button. In practical applications, the user can trigger the image processing system to perform cell screening processing by clicking the Execute button.

[0128] In the embodiment of the present application, the image processing system automatically determines the first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell based on the mask image output by the cell imaging system, so that compared with the related art, the spatial relationship between the cell to be screened and the corresponding reference cell can also be determined without manual annotation, and on this basis, the target cell is screened from one or more cells to be screened based on the determined first distance, realizing automatic batch screening of cells in the target tissue, improving the screening efficiency, and further, the image processing system generates the corresponding mask image after screening the target cell and outputs the mask image to the cell cutting system, thereby improving the cell cutting efficiency and improving the adverse effect of the related art on the analysis efficiency of biological tissue.

[0129] The present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with application examples.

[0130] The cell screening system provided in the application examples of the present application is equivalent to the image processing system in the embodiments of the present application.

[0131] In actual application, the cell screening system can determine the first distance between the cell to be screened and the corresponding reference cell based on the mask image output by the cell imaging system. Figure 6 The processing flow of the interface shown in FIG. 1 for cell screening can mainly include the following steps:

[0132] Step 1: Based on the user input Mask File, Mask A (mask image A) is obtained, and based on the user input Center File, Mask B (mask image B) is obtained.

[0133] In actual application, Mask A can represent the mask image output by the cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more cells a in the target tissue, and Mask B can represent the mask image output by the cell imaging system after cell contour recognition of one or more cells b in the target tissue.

[0134] Here, Mask A is equivalent to the first image in the embodiments of the present application, cell a is equivalent to the cell to be screened in the embodiments of the present application, Mask B is equivalent to the second image in the embodiments of the present application. Cell b is equivalent to the reference cell in the embodiments of the present application.

[0135] Step 2: Based on the user input area_min and area_max, cell area screening is performed on one or more cells b.

[0136] In actual application, the cell screening system can determine the geometric center and cell area of the cell in Mask A based on Mask A and Mask B, and determine the geometric center and cell area of the cell in Mask A.

[0137] In practical applications, the cell screening system can determine a set area interval based on the area_min and / or area_max input by the user. For example, the set area interval can be represented as [area_min, area_max]. Then, the cell screening system can screen the cells b from the one or more cells b to obtain one or more cells b after cell area screening, where the area of each cell b in the one or more cells b is within the set area interval.

[0138] Here, the one or more cells b after cell area screening correspond to one or more second reference cells in the embodiments of the present application.

[0139] Step 3: Determine a specific cell b corresponding to each cell a.

[0140] In practical applications, for each cell a, the cell screening system can determine the center distance between the cell a and each cell b in the one or more cells b after cell area screening, and determine the cell b corresponding to the minimum center distance as the specific cell b corresponding to the cell a. Here, the center distance corresponds to the second distance in the embodiments of the present application. For ease of description, the center distance can be represented as d.

[0141] Step 4: Determine the screening distance between each cell a and the corresponding specific cell b.

[0142] Here, the screening distance corresponds to the first distance in the embodiments of the present application. For ease of description, the center distance can be represented as D.

[0143] In practical applications, the center distance between the cell a and the corresponding specific cell b can be compared with the radius of the first coverage circle of the specific cell b to obtain a comparison result, and the screening distance can be determined based on the comparison result. For ease of description, the radius of the first coverage circle of the specific cell b can be represented as r.

[0144] In the case where the comparison result represents d < r, the screening distance D can be represented as a set negative value, for example, -1. In this case, it can be considered that the geometric center of the cell a is located inside the first coverage circle.

[0145] In the case where the comparison result represents d ≥ r, the screening distance D can be represented as d-r. In this case, it can be considered that the geometric center of the cell a is located outside or on the contour of the first coverage circle.

[0146] Step 5: Screen the target cell from the one or more cells a based on the screening distance corresponding to each cell a.

[0147] In actual application, the cell screening system can determine a set distance interval based on the d_min and / or d_max input by the user, and the set distance interval can be expressed as [d_min, d_max) for example; then, the cell screening system can determine the cell a corresponding to the screening distance within the set distance interval as the target cell.

[0148] Step 6: output the screening result.

[0149] In actual application, the cell screening system can generate a target mask image based on the one or more target cells screened, and output the target mask image to the cell cutting system; for example, the cell screening system can save the image region in which the one or more target cells in Mask A are located as the target mask image, and the target mask image is equivalent to the third image in the embodiments of the present application.

[0150] The cell screening system can also count the cell area of each target cell in the target mask image, and save the counting result as a statistical file, which is equivalent to the first file in the embodiments of the present application.

[0151] The cell screening system can also obtain an imaging image based on the Image File input by the user, and the imaging image is equivalent to the fourth image in the embodiments of the present application; then, the first circle frame and / or the second circle frame are labeled for each cell b in the imaging image, and then the target mask image is superimposed on the imaging image after the circle frame labeling with a set transparency to obtain a superimposed image.

[0152] In actual application, the cell screening system can output the target mask image and / or the statistical file and / or the superimposed image to the output path corresponding to the Save Folder.

[0153] In the application embodiments, the cell screening system automatically determines the screening distance between each cell a to be screened and the corresponding specific cell b based on the mask image output by the cell imaging system, so that compared with the related art, the spatial relationship between the cell a and the corresponding specific cell b can also be determined without manual labeling, and on this basis, the target cell is screened from one or more cells a based on the determined screening distance, which realizes automatic batch screening of cells in the target tissue, improves the screening efficiency, and further, the corresponding mask image is generated after the target cell is screened and output to the cell cutting system, thereby improving the cell cutting efficiency and improving the adverse effect of the related art on the analysis efficiency of the biological tissue.

[0154] Based on the above embodiments, the application embodiments also provide a cell screening device, which is shown in Figure 7 The cell screening device comprises:

[0155] The acquisition unit 71 is configured to acquire a first image and a second image; the first image represents a mask image output by a cell contour recognition of one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue by a cell imaging system; the second image represents a mask image output by a cell contour recognition of one or more reference cells in the target tissue by the cell imaging system; the reference cells are used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened;

[0156] The determination unit 72 is configured to determine, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened from the one or more cells to be screened, and determine a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell;

[0157] The screening unit 73 is configured to screen one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined one or more first distances, to generate a third image and output the third image to a cell cutting system; the third image represents a mask image for displaying a cell contour of the one or more target cells.

[0158] In an embodiment, the determination unit 72 determines, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened from the one or more cells to be screened, and determines a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell, including:

[0159] For each cell to be screened, based on the first image and the second image, a second distance between the cell to be screened and each reference cell in the one or more reference cells is determined respectively, and the first reference cell corresponding to the cell to be screened is determined based on one or more second distances obtained; the first reference cell represents a reference cell corresponding to a minimum second distance in the one or more second distances;

[0160] The second distance of the first reference cell is compared with a first radius of a first covering circle of the first reference cell, and a first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell is determined based on the comparison result; the center of the first covering circle of the first reference cell represents a geometric center of the first reference cell, and the first covering circle of the first reference cell covers the first reference cell.

[0161] In an embodiment, the determination unit 72 determines, based on the comparison result, a first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell, including:

[0162] In a case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is greater than the first radius, a first difference value is determined as the first distance; the first difference value is represented as a difference between the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell and the first radius; and / or,

[0163] In a case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is less than the first radius, a negative number value is determined as the first distance; and / or,

[0164] In a case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is equal to the first radius, the first difference value or the negative number value is determined as the first distance.

[0165] In an embodiment, the determination unit 72 is further configured to, before determining the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image respectively:

[0166] screen one or more second reference cells from the one or more reference cells; the cell area of the second reference cell is within the set area interval;

[0167] Correspondingly, the determination of the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image respectively includes:

[0168] determination of the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more second reference cells based on the first image and the second image respectively.

[0169] In an embodiment, the screening unit 73 screens one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the one or more first distances determined, including:

[0170] For each of the one or more first distances, in a case where the first distance is within a set distance interval, the cell to be screened corresponding to the first distance is determined as a target cell.

[0171] In an embodiment, the screening unit 72 is further configured to, after generating the third image:

[0172] superimpose the third image on a fourth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image, and output the fifth image; the fourth image represents an image output by a cell imaging system after cell imaging processing of the target tissue.

[0173] In an embodiment, the screening unit 73 is further configured to:

[0174] based on the set distance interval, label a first circle frame and / or a second circle frame for each of the one or more reference cells in the fourth image; wherein,

[0175] the set distance interval is used to screen a target cell from the one or more cells to be screened based on a first distance; the center of the first circle frame and the center of the second circle frame are both represented as the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the radius of the first circle frame is determined based on a first sum value, the first sum value being represented as the sum value between the radius of the first covering circle of the corresponding reference cell and the first endpoint of the set distance interval, and the radius of the second circle frame is determined based on a second sum value, the second sum value being represented as the sum value between the radius of the first covering circle of the corresponding reference cell and the second endpoint of the set distance interval; the center of the first covering circle is represented as the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the first covering circle covers the corresponding reference cell.

[0176] In actual application, the acquisition unit 71, the determination unit 72 and the screening unit 73 can be realized by a processor in the cell screening device.

[0177] It should be noted that: the cell screening device provided in the above embodiments is used for cell screening, and only the division of the above program modules is used as an example for illustration. In actual application, the above processing can be completed by different program modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different program modules to complete all or part of the above processing. In addition, the cell screening device and the cell screening method provided in the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process is described in the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0178] Based on the hardware implementation of the above program modules, and in order to realize the method of the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides an electronic device, which is shown in Figure 8 The electronic device comprises:

[0179] a communication interface 1 capable of information interaction with other devices;

[0180] a processor 2 connected with the communication interface 1 to realize information interaction with other devices, and used to run a computer program to execute the method provided in one or more technical solutions in the above embodiments. The computer program is stored on a memory 3.

[0181] Specifically, the processor 2 is configured to acquire a first image and a second image; the first image represents a mask image output by a cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue; and the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more reference cells in the target tissue; the reference cells are used to provide spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened.

[0182] Based on the first image and the second image, the processor 2 is configured to determine a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened from the one or more reference cells, and determine a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell.

[0183] Based on the determined one or more first distances, the processor 2 is configured to screen one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened to generate a third image and output the third image to a cell cutting system; the third image represents a mask image for displaying a cell contour of the one or more target cells.

[0184] In an embodiment, the processor 2 determines a first reference cell corresponding to each cell to be screened from the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image, and determines a first distance between each cell to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell, including:

[0185] For each cell to be screened, the processor 2 determines a second distance between the cell to be screened and each reference cell in the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image, respectively, and determines a first reference cell corresponding to the cell to be screened based on one or more second distances obtained; the first reference cell represents a reference cell corresponding to a minimum second distance in the one or more second distances.

[0186] The processor 2 compares the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell with a first radius of a first covering circle of the first reference cell, and determines a first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell based on the comparison result; the center of the first covering circle of the first reference cell represents a geometric center of the first reference cell, and the first covering circle of the first reference cell covers the first reference cell.

[0187] In an embodiment, the processor 2 determines a first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell based on the comparison result, including:

[0188] In a case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is greater than the first radius, a first difference value is determined as the first distance; the first difference value is represented as a difference between the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell and the first radius; and / or,

[0189] In a case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is less than the first radius, a negative number value is determined as the first distance; and / or,

[0190] In a case where the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is equal to the first radius, the first difference value or the negative number value is determined as the first distance.

[0191] In an embodiment, the processor 2 is further configured to, before determining the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image respectively:

[0192] screen one or more second reference cells from the one or more reference cells; the cell area of the second reference cell is within the set area interval;

[0193] Correspondingly, the determination of the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image respectively includes:

[0194] determining the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more second reference cells based on the first image and the second image respectively.

[0195] In an embodiment, the processor 2 screens one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined one or more first distances, including:

[0196] For each of the one or more first distances, in a case where the first distance is within a set distance interval, the cell to be screened corresponding to the first distance is determined as a target cell.

[0197] In an embodiment, the processor 2 is further configured to, after generating the third image:

[0198] superimposes the third image on a fourth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image, and outputs the fifth image; the fourth image represents an image output by a cell imaging system after cell imaging processing of the target tissue.

[0199] In an embodiment, before the processor 2 superimposes the third image on the fourth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image, the processor 2 is further configured to:

[0200] based on a set distance interval, label a first circle frame and / or a second circle frame for each of the one or more reference cells in the fourth image; wherein,

[0201] the set distance interval is used to select a target cell from the one or more cells to be screened based on a first distance; the center of the first circle frame and the center of the second circle frame are both represented as the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the radius of the first circle frame is determined based on a first sum value, the first sum value being represented as the sum value between the radius of the first covering circle of the corresponding reference cell and the first endpoint of the set distance interval, and the radius of the second circle frame is determined based on a second sum value, the second sum value being represented as the sum value between the radius of the first covering circle of the corresponding reference cell and the second endpoint of the set distance interval; the center of the first covering circle is represented as the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the first covering circle covers the corresponding reference cell.

[0202] It should be noted that the specific processing process of the communication interface 1 can be understood with reference to the above method.

[0203] Of course, in actual application, various components in the electronic device are coupled together through the bus system 4. It can be understood that the bus system 4 is used to realize the connection and communication between the components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 4 also includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus. However, in order to clearly illustrate, in the Figure 8 , all kinds of buses are marked as bus system 4.

[0204] The memory 3 in the embodiment of the application is used to store various types of data to support the operation in the electronic device. Examples of these data include: any computer programs used to operate on the electronic device.

[0205] The method disclosed by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the processor 2 or implemented by the processor 2. The processor 2 can be an integrated circuit chip with processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit or the instruction in the form of software in the processor 2. The processor 2 can be a general processor, DSP, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The processor 2 can implement or execute the disclosed methods, steps and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application. The general processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. In combination with the steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application, the hardware decoding processor can be directly embodied to execute the foregoing steps, or the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor can be combined to execute the foregoing steps. The software module can be located in the storage medium, and the storage medium is located in the memory 3. The processor 2 reads the information in the memory 3 and combines the hardware to complete the foregoing steps of the method.

[0206] In the exemplary embodiments, the electronic device can be implemented by one or more ASICs, DSPs, PLDs, CPLDs, FPGAs, general-purpose processors, controllers, MCUs, Microprocessors, or other electronic elements for executing the foregoing method.

[0207] It can be understood that the memory 3 of the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, and can also include both volatile and non-volatile memories. The non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a ferromagnetic random access memory (FRAM), a flash memory, a magnetic surface memory, an optical disc, or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). The magnetic surface memory can be a disk memory or a tape memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous static random access memory (SSRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), sync link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (DRRAM).The memory described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include, but not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0208] In the example embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a storage medium, i.e., a computer storage medium, specifically a computer readable storage medium, such as an electronic device including a computer program, which can be executed by the processor 2 of the electronic device to complete the steps of the foregoing method. The computer readable storage medium can be FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface memory, optical disc, or CD-ROM, etc.

[0209] In the example embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program, which can be executed by the processor 2 of the electronic device to complete the steps of any of the foregoing methods.

[0210] It should be noted that "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence.

[0211] The term "and / or" herein is only a description of the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the term "one or more" herein means any combination of at least two of any one or more of a plurality, for example, including at least one of A, B, and C can mean including any one or more elements selected from the set consisting of A, B, and C.

[0212] In addition, the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application can be combined arbitrarily without conflict.

Claims

1. A cell screening method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire a first image and a second image; the first image represents a mask image output by a cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more cells to be screened in a target tissue; the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more reference cells in the target tissue; the reference cells are used to provide a spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened; Based on the first image and the second image, determining a first reference cell corresponding to each of the one or more cells to be screened from the one or more reference cells, and determining a first distance between each of the one or more cells to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell; Based on the determined one or more first distances, one or more target cells are screened out from the one or more cells to be screened to generate a third image and output the third image to the cell cutting system; the third image represents a mask image used to display the cell contours of the one or more target cells.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of determining, based on the first image and the second image, a first reference cell corresponding to each of the one or more cells to be screened from the one or more reference cells, and determining a first distance between each of the one or more cells to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell, comprises: For each cell to be screened, determining a second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image, and determining a first reference cell corresponding to the cell to be screened based on the obtained one or more second distances; the first reference cell represents the reference cell corresponding to the smallest second distance among the one or more second distances; The second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is compared with the first radius of the first covering circle of the first reference cell, and the first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell is determined based on the comparison result; the center of the first covering circle of the first reference cell is characterized as the geometric center of the first reference cell, and the first covering circle of the first reference cell covers the first reference cell.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining of the first distance between the corresponding cell to be screened and the first reference cell based on the comparison result includes: If the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is greater than the first radius, the first difference is determined as the first distance; the first difference is represented by the difference between the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell and the first radius; and / or, If the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is smaller than the first radius, a negative value is set as the first distance; and / or, When the comparison result indicates that the second distance corresponding to the first reference cell is equal to the first radius, the first difference or the set negative value is determined as the first distance.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Before determining the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image, the method further includes: Screening out one or more second reference cells from the one or more reference cells; the cell area of ​​the second reference cells is within the set area range; Correspondingly, determining the second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more reference cells based on the first image and the second image, respectively, includes: Based on the first image and the second image, a second distance between the cell to be screened and each of the one or more second reference cells is determined respectively.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The step of screening out one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined one or more first distances comprises: For each of the one or more first distances, when the first distance is within a set distance interval, the to-be-screened cell corresponding to the first distance is determined as a target cell.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein After generating the third image, the method further includes: The third image is superimposed on the fourth image with a set transparency to obtain a fifth image, and the fifth image is output; the fourth image represents the image output after the cell imaging system performs cell imaging processing on the target tissue.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that Before superimposing the third image on the fourth image with a set transparency to obtain the fifth image, the method further includes: Based on the set distance interval, a first circular frame and / or a second circular frame is marked for each reference cell in the one or more reference cells in the fourth image; wherein, The set distance interval is used to screen out target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the first distance; the center of the first circular frame and the center of the second circular frame are both represented as the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the radius of the first circular frame is determined based on a first sum value, the first sum value is represented as the sum of the radius of the first covering circle of the corresponding reference cell and the first endpoint of the set distance interval, and the radius of the second circular frame is determined based on a second sum value, the second sum value is represented as the sum of the radius of the first covering circle of the corresponding reference cell and the second endpoint of the set distance interval; the center of the first covering circle is represented as the geometric center of the corresponding reference cell, and the first covering circle covers the corresponding reference cell.

8. A cell screening device, characterized in that: include: an acquisition unit, configured to acquire a first image and a second image; The first image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more cells to be screened in the target tissue; the second image represents a mask image output by the cell imaging system after performing cell contour recognition on one or more reference cells in the target tissue; the reference cells are used to provide a spatial relationship reference for the cells to be screened; a determining unit, configured to determine, from the one or more reference cells, a first reference cell corresponding to each of the one or more cells to be screened, and determine a first distance between each of the one or more cells to be screened and the corresponding first reference cell; A screening unit is used to screen out one or more target cells from the one or more cells to be screened based on the determined one or more first distances to generate a third image and output the third image to the cell cutting system; the third image represents a mask image used to display the cell contours of the one or more target cells.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program capable of being executed on the processor, Wherein, when the processor is used to run the computer program, it executes the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

Citation Information

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