Rapid analysis of hematology image data: the ADC-500 preprocessor.

A sequential, pipeline processor (that we have named the ADC-500 preprocessor) has been developed which scene segments the three color image data from the ADC-500 optics one image element at a time, groups together image elements from each object in the scene and extracts features from each object. The processing occurs at television frame rates, requiring 16.7 msec to process the entire image. This speed was instrumental in allowing the ADC-500 automated differential analyzer to perform routine 500-cell differentials. The preprocessor also contains hardware which simplifies compilation of the three color histograms. The segmentation algorithms implemented in the preprocessor are multicolor extensions of the classical monochrome density histogram threshold method. For most cell image analysis tasks, a sequential pipeline processor of this type should be more economical and as fast or faster than a parallel processor.