Cell segmentation using stable extremal regions in multi-exposure microscopy images

Abstract

We propose a novel cell segmentation approach by extracting Multi-exposure Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MMSER) in phase contrast microscopy images on the same cell dish. Using our method, cell regions can be well identified by considering the maximally stable regions with response to different camera exposure times. Meanwhile, halo artifacts with regard to cells at different stages are leveraged to identify cells' stages. The experimental results validate that high quality cell segmentation and cell stage classification can be achieved by our approach.