Automatic computer measurements of neurons

摘要

A method was developed for automatically performing, for both nucleus and perikaryon of neurons, rapid measurements of the area, maximum diameter, maximum perpendicular radii, and degree of eccentricities of the perpendicular radii. The volume of the cell was estimated, and indices were computed for cellular rectangularity, roundness, and skewness. An IBM 7094 computer equipped with a FIDAC scanning instrument was used to make the measurements, on a selected population of 6000 cells. A basic computer programming system was developed to assist in the processing. Scattergrams and histograms were automatically printed by the computer.