Microbial Image Analysis Using Electron Microscopy Brightness Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing microbial image analysis methods using optical microscopes cannot effectively observe the finer morphology of microbes, limiting their ability to accurately identify and quantify microbial populations.
Innovation Solution
A microbial image analysis method utilizing an electron microscope to obtain high-resolution images of stained microbes, followed by brightness profile analysis to set standard brightness ranges for different microbe groups, allowing for the calculation of microbe ratios based on image brightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an optical microscope is used for microbial image analysis, then the method is simple and accessible, but the resolution is insufficient to observe fine morphology of microbes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the optical microscope system with an electron microscope system to achieve higher resolution imaging. This substitution transitions from optical physics to electron physics, enabling observation of fine microbial morphology that cannot be resolved by conventional optical methods.
2Measurement precision
If an electron microscope is used to obtain high-resolution images, then fine morphology of microbes can be observed, but the device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the complex electron microscope image data into simplified brightness profile parameters. By converting spatial image information into brightness distribution parameters along specific directions, the method enables quantitative analysis while reducing the complexity of handling raw high-resolution images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified representations (brightness profiles) that copy the essential morphological information from complex electron microscope images. These brightness profiles serve as simplified copies that retain the key features needed for microbial identification and classification without the full complexity of the original high-resolution images.
3Measurement precision
If traditional optical microscopy methods are used, then the operational procedure is simple, but the ability to accurately identify and quantify microbial populations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image analysis process into distinct steps: obtaining electron microscope images, generating brightness profiles, determining standard brightness ranges, and calculating microbial ratios. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently and facilitates automated processing, improving accuracy while managing complexity through systematic breakdown.
Data Source
AI summary
The purpose of this invention is to provide a microbial image analysis method which enables us to obtain information about a microscopic structure of an individual microbe by electron microscope's resolution, and to evaluate a ratio of microbes.The method of this invention's one aspect comprises a first step for obtaining an image of a specimen in which a sample including microbes is stained, by using an electron microscope; a second step for obtaining a brightness profile regarding a brightness distribution range of the image; a third step for setting a first standard brightness range which meets a first condition regarding a brightness out of the profile up as a region where a first microbe group exists, and setting a second standard brightness range which meets a second condition regarding a brightness out of the profile up as a region where a second microbe group exists; and a fourth step for identifying individual microbes which exist in each of the first and the second standard brightness ranges and/or for calculating a ratio of the microbe which exists in each of the first and the second standard brightness ranges.