Computer recognition of ectocervical cells. Classification accuracy and spatial resolution.

The effect of a relaxation of the spatial resolution of images of ectocervical cells on classification accuracy by computer has been studied. The discriminatory capabilities of optical density, texture and shape features have been evaluated. Comparable computer classifications have been derived. The differences in the discriminating power of .5 and 1 mu resolution are found to be smaller than the differences corresponding to 1 and 2 mu resolution. While 2 mu resolution may be marginally acceptable in certain situations, the 4 mu resolution did not render acceptably good classification rates.