| 摘要 |
A method of determining the motion of a biological object comprises acquiring a time series of images 105 of the object using an imager 104. The series of images comprises successive frames 105, one of which is used as a reference frame fR 106. A series of subtractive images (i.e. difference images) 108-109 is generated by calculating 107 the difference between the corresponding intensity values for each of the acquired images and the reference frame fR 106. One or more measurements are derived 110 from the series of subtractive images, the measurements being statistical measures such as the mean, total or median pixel intensity derived from the subtractive images. Measurements are subject to analysis 111 to determine information about motion/motility 112 of the object. The object under analysis may be a cultured organisms such as zebra fish or C. elegans. Alternatively, the object may be a cell culture, such as a mammalian/human cell culture (e.g. a cardiomyocyte cell culture), a bacterial cell culture, a fungal cell culture, an insect cell culture or a fish cell culture. The method may be automated and used for the purposes of drug discovery and/or toxicological testing. A system for the automated determination of motion of biological objects in accordance with the method is also described. |
