3D Visualization, Identification, and Quantification of Biological Cells using Virtual Reality

This project will involve the development of an open-source image analysis tools for large confocal microscope datasets. This tool will implement different computer vision algorithms and traditional machine learning approaches in two and three dimensions. Completion of this project will yield novel computer software for the visualization and quantification of biological cells that form within a developing tissue. Quantification of developing cells is needed in biological studies to determine genetic links and potential treatments for developmental disorders, diseases such as cancer, and tumor development. Current tools available to the community for such precise measurements are costly, inadequate, and/or are not adaptable for specific application. This research project will provide the community with a new tool that will 1) be adaptable to many studies and data types, 2) open source and free to use, and 3) provides non-bias and accurate cell quantification by analyzing biological data in 3D rather than as individual 2D layered images. The tool is continuously being optimized with language switches from high level Python to higher level C++ with exceptional results of execution time cut down by minimum ten percent. The outcome of this project is biological cells that are autonomously visualized in three-dimensional virtual reality.