Luminance-Based Cell Tracking for Division-Aware Movement Analysis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cell tracking technologies face challenges in accurately distinguishing between cell movement and division, leading to noise in analysis of cell movement states due to instantaneous changes in the center of gravity during cell division.

Innovation Solution

A cell tracking method that utilizes luminance information to differentiate between tracking regions and stop regions, calculating the movement state of cells based on the luminance values, and stopping the tracking process when cells transition to a brighter state indicative of cell division.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If cell tracking is continued through cell division events, then tracking continuity is maintained, but noise is introduced in movement state analysis due to instantaneous center of gravity changes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetracking continuityVSAvoidmovement state analysis accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and identifies cell division events from the tracking data by detecting luminance changes. Once division events are identified, the corresponding data points are separated or excluded from movement state calculations, thereby removing the noise source while preserving the overall tracking continuity for non-division periods.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary identification of cell division events before conducting movement state analysis. By detecting luminance changes and identifying division events in advance, the system can prepare cleaned tracking data that excludes division-related noise, ensuring accurate movement state calculations from the outset.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If luminance-based tracking region identification is used, then cell movement and division can be distinguished, but additional processing steps are required

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecell state differentiation accuracyVSAvoidprocessing steps
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent utilizes luminance (brightness) changes as the key indicator to distinguish between cell movement and cell division. By monitoring luminance variations in tracking regions, the system can automatically differentiate cell states without requiring complex additional processing, as luminance information is already available from standard microscopy imaging.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Data Source

PatentEP3964562B1Cell tracking method, image processing device, and program
Publication Date: 2025.11.05 NIKON CORP
  • EP3964562B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3964562B1 patent drawingFigure 2(A)~2(G)
  • EP3964562B1 patent drawingFigure 3(A)~3(G)

AI summary

A cell tracking method is a cell tracking method for performing cell tracking on the basis of a plurality of cell images captured in time series, and includes an extraction process of extracting a tracking region corresponding to the cell for each of the plurality of cell images, a position calculation process of calculating a change in a position of the tracking region extracted in the extraction process on the basis of the plurality of cell images and tracking the cell on the basis of the calculated change in the position of the tracking region, a determination process of determining whether or not the cell as a tracking target is in a cell division state on the basis of the cell image, and a stop process of stopping the tracking of the cell when the cell is determined to be in the cell division state in the determination process.