Feature Extraction of 3T3 Fibroblast Microtubule Based on Discrete Wavelet Transform and Lucy–Richardson Deconvolution Methods

Abstract

Accompanied by the increasing requirements of the probing micro/nanoscopic structures of biological samples, various image-processing algorithms have been developed for visualization or to facilitate data analysis. However, it remains challenging to enhance both the signal-to-noise ratio and image resolution using a single algorithm. In this investigation, we propose a composite image processing method by combining discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and the Lucy–Richardson (LR) deconvolution method, termed the DWDC method. Our results demonstrate that the signal-to-noise ratio and resolution of live cells’ microtubule networks are considerably improved, allowing the recognition of features as small as 120 nm. The method shows robustness in processing the high-noise images of filament-like biological structures, e.g., the cytoskeleton networks captured by fluorescent microscopes.