CYBEST model 3 automated cytologic screening system for uterine cancer utilizing image analysis processing.

The improvements incorporated into the Model 3 version of CYBEST (Cyto-Biological Electronic Screening System) are highlighted. Following the successful development of a software-controlled automatic shading for a video system, the new Model 3 CYBEST contains a televisions scan system with a single-step, fine-resolution scan and strobe-light illumination in place of the two-step (coarse and fine) scan of Model 2. The automatic shading control is described in detail, as is the automated focusing system, which uses a touch-sensor to achieve a near-focus level and a differential adding algorithm to obtain exact focus. Improvements in the slide magazine and slide autochanger have quadrupled the number of slides that may be loaded into the machine at one time while increasing the speed of operation. CYBEST Model 3 has achieved our goal of rapid processing, requiring less than three minutes per specimen for final assessment as compared with the six minutes per specimen of Model 2. Field tests of Model 3 are currently under way, with a large number of smears prepared by our automated cell dispersion and monolayer smearing device (CYBEST-CDMS).