Is AI the Key to Diving Deeper into Images and Pathology?

In a tale of two studies, it appears artificial intelligence is helping researchers analyze cells in ways that weren't possible before. In one study, published this week in Nature Methods, scientists at the Allen Institute in Seattle, WA used machine learning to train computers to see parts of the cell that the human eye cannot easily distinguish. Using 3D images of fluorescently labeled cells, the team taught computers to find structures inside living cells without fluorescent labels, using only black and white images generated by an inexpensive technique known as brightfield microscopy. Fluorescence microscopy, which uses glowing molecular labels to pinpoint specific parts of cells, is very precise but only allows scientists to see a few structures in the cell at a time, the researchers explained. Human cells have upwards of 20,000 different proteins that, if viewed together, could reveal important information about both healthy and diseased cells. "This technology lets us view a larger set of those structures than was possible before," said Greg Johnson, PhD, a scientist at the Allen Institute for Cell Science, a division of the Allen Institute, and senior author on the study. "This means that we can explore the organization of the cell in ways that nobody has been able to do, especially in live cells." According to Rick Horwitz, PhD, executive director of the Allen Institute for Cell Science, the prediction tool could also help scientists understan...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Imaging Source Type: news