Detecting Actin Fibers in Cell Images using Minimal Spanning Trees

Abstract

The quantitative description of cell structures in light microscope images is an important task in biological research. The inclusion of digital image processing techniques and fluorescent markers into light microscope imaging has recently made this task feasible. In this paper, we present a method for detection of filamentary structures in cell images that have been highlighted with fluorescent markers. The method has three stages. First, pixels belonging to fiber contours are extracted from the image. Then these pixels are grouped together based on proximity by a minimal spanning tree. Finally, the fiber contours are determined as sub-trees of the minimal spanning tree. Once the pixels belonging to individual fibers contours have been determined, quantitative statistics describing the fibers in the cell can be calculated.