Leukocyte Nucleus Segmentation and Nucleus Lobe Counting

Background: Leukocytes play an important role in the human immune system. The family of leukocytes is comprised of lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and neutrophils. Any infection or acute stress may increase or decrease the number of leukocytes. An increased percentage of neutrophils may be caused by an acute infection, while an increased percentage of lymphocytes can be caused by a chronic bacterial infection. It is important to realize an abnormal variation in the leukocytes. The five types of leukocytes can be distinguished by their cytoplasmic granules, staining properties of the granules, size of cell, the proportion of the nuclear to the cytoplasmic material, and the type of nucleolar lobes. The number of lobes increased when leukemia, chronic nephritis, liver disease, cancer, sepsis, and vitamin B12 or folate deficiency occurred. Clinical neutrophil hypersegmentation has been widely used as an indicator of B12 or folate deficiency.Biomedical technologists can cur...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: BMCBI
• Authors: Yung-Kuan Chan, Meng-Hsiun Tsai, Der-Chen Huang, Zong-Han Zheng, Kun-Ding Hung
• Keywords: Automatic Leukocyte Recognition, BMCBI 2010, Clinical Neutrophil Hypersegmentation, Leukocyte