Patent ID: 6385272
Filing Date: 2002-05-07
Classification: C12Q

Abstract:
A method of counting a number of microbes or colonies thereof by counting a number of luminous points of an image, acquired through an image acquisition device, of fluorescence from the microbes on which luminescence treatment is performed by using a reagent, comprising the steps of:(a) reading data for luminance of the image acquired through the image acquisition device into memory locations corresponding to pixels in a two-dimensional matrix-like form; (b) correcting obtained data for the luminance on the basis of a background value; (c) binarizing corrected luminance data stored in each of said memory locations on the basis of a defined threshold so that a judgment is made as to whether the corrected luminance data has a luminance value higher than a predetermined level; (d) defining the corrected luminance data having luminance equal to or greater than the threshold as luminous points; (e) judging, for each of the luminous points, whether there exists any luminous point within a predetermined range of pixels adjacent to said luminous point; (f) counting said luminous point as a single microbe or colony when there is no adjacent luminous point and grouping and counting said luminous point and said adjacent luminous points as a single microbe or colony where exist adjacent luminous points; and (g) repeating said steps (e) and (f) for all luminous points.