Cell segmentation and dry mass characterization based on slightly off-axis holographic imaging

Abstract

Accurate characterization of physical properties of single cells is of great significance in biological research. Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a non-contact full-field microscopy technique that provides phase images by directly measuring the optical path differences, which facilitates cell segmentation and allows the determination of several important cellular physical features, such as dry mass. We present a series of algorithms for cell segmentation and calculation of cellular dry mass, forming a complete method for cell analysis. The image processing algorithms involved are implemented on the high-resolution artifact-free quantitative phase images obtained by our previously proposed slightly off-axis holographic system (FPDH) and associated reconstruction methods. A highly robust automated cell segmentation method is applied to extract the valid cellular region and then determine the dry mass of each individual cell. Experiments on live HeLa cells demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the method, revealing its potential for diverse biomedical applications.