Patent ID: 7711495
Filing Date: 2010-05-04
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method for automatic identification of microorganisms collected on a carrier, which microorganisms are fungal spores and bacteria and are airborne or present in water, the method comprising the steps of: a) recording at least one color image of a carrier surface with collected microorganisms with a digital device with image enlargement that digitalizes the at least one color image to a digitalized color image so that for further processing immediately a digitalized image of the carrier surface with the microorganisms is available; b) converting the digitalized color image into a grayscale image and optionally converting subsequently the grayscale image into a silhouette image and producing, when microorganisms are present on the carrier, an image with resulting full-surface labeled objects, representing the microorganisms, of a first grayscale and a background of a different second grayscale; c) comparing the objects to models by a model-based comparative method in order to identify identified objects and unidentified objects in at least one of the grayscale image and the silhouette image; d) marking contours of the identified objects in the at least one of the color image and the grayscale image; e) determining at least one feature of the identified objects in the at least one of the color image and the grayscale image; f) classifying case-by-case the identified objects based on the at least one feature as classified objects with a classification system; g) counting all the objects to determine a count of the identified objects and of the non-classified unidentified objects; h) indicating; saving; or indicating and saving the classified objects as at least one of species; name; and code together with the count of the classified objects; i) indicating; saving; or indicating and saving the non-classified, unidentified objects as at least one of a color image; grayscale image; and silhouette image together with the count and subsequently discarding the non-classified, unidentified objects or adding the non-classified, unidentified objects as a new case with determined class in the classification system; j) separating overlapping objects in the color image or in the grayscale image by performing a first image analysis and removing the overlapping objects from the color image or the grayscale image and saving the overlapping objects as a first partial image; k) separating by a second image analysis the overlapping objects of the first partial image from one another and saving the separated overlapping objects as second partial images; l) determining features of the separated overlapping objects and, by comparison with saved and identified objects of the classification system, identifying supplemented objects and supplementing missing areas caused by overlap; m) indicating; saving; or indicating and saving the identified separated objects of the step k), the supplemented objects of the step l), and a level of congruence between the supplemented objects of step l) and the correlated saved and identified objects of the classification system.