Tourtellotte W G, Lawrence D T, Getting P A, Van Hoesen G W
Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242.
J Neurosci Methods. 1989 Jul;29(1):43-57. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(89)90107-6.
This report describes a computerized microscope charting system based on the IBM personal computer or compatible. Stepping motors are used to control the movement of the microscope stage and to encode its position by hand manipulation of a joystick. Tissue section contours and the location of cells labeled with various compounds are stored by the computer, plotted at any magnification and manipulated into composites created from several charted sections. The system has many advantages: (1) it is based on an industry standardized computer that is affordable and familiar; (2) compact and commercially available stepping motor microprocessors control the stage movement. These controllers increase reliability, simplify implementation, and increase efficiency by relieving the computer of time consuming control tasks; (3) the system has an interactive graphics interface allowing the operator to view the image during data collection. Regions of the graphics display can be enlarged during the charting process to provide higher resolution and increased accuracy; (4) finally, the digitized data are stored at 0.5 micron resolution and can be routed directly to a multi-pen plotter or exported to a computer-aided design (CAD) program to generate a publication-quality montage composed of several computerized chartings. The system provides a useful tool for the acquisition and qualitative analysis of data representing stained cells or chemical markers in tissue. The modular design, together with data storage at high resolution, allows for potential analytical enhancements involving planimetric, stereologic and 3-D serial section reconstruction.
本报告描述了一种基于IBM个人计算机或兼容机的计算机化显微镜绘图系统。步进电机用于控制显微镜载物台的移动，并通过手动操作操纵杆对其位置进行编码。组织切片轮廓以及用各种化合物标记的细胞位置由计算机存储，可按任何放大倍数绘制，并处理成由多个绘图切片创建的合成图。该系统有许多优点：（1）它基于一种行业标准化的计算机，价格实惠且为人熟知；（2）紧凑且商用的步进电机微处理器控制载物台移动。这些控制器提高了可靠性，简化了实现过程，并通过将计算机从耗时的控制任务中解放出来提高了效率；（3）该系统具有交互式图形界面，允许操作员在数据收集期间查看图像。在绘图过程中可以放大图形显示区域，以提供更高的分辨率和更高的准确性；（4）最后，数字化数据以0.5微米的分辨率存储，并且可以直接传送到多笔绘图仪或导出到计算机辅助设计（CAD）程序，以生成由多个计算机化绘图组成的具有出版质量的蒙太奇图。该系统为获取和定性分析组织中染色细胞或化学标记的数据提供了一个有用的工具。模块化设计以及高分辨率数据存储允许进行涉及平面测量、体视学和三维连续切片重建的潜在分析增强。
