Tracking the Swimming Motions of C. elegans Worms with Applications in Aging Studies

Authors:
Christophe Restif;Dimitris Metaxas
Affiliations:
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey,;Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey,
Venue:
MICCAI '08 Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention - Part I
Year:
2008

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Abstract

Quantitative analysis of the swimming motions of C. elegansworms are of critical importance for many gene-related studies on aging. However no automated methods are currently in use. We present a novel training-based method that automatically tracks and segments multiple swimming worms, in challenging imaging conditions. The position of each worm is predicted by comparing its latest motion with a set of previous observations, and then adjusted laterally and longitudinally to fit the image. After segmentation, a variety of measures can be used to assess the evolution of swimming patterns over time, allowing a quantitative comparison of worm populations over their lifetime. The complete software is being evaluated for mass processing in biology laboratories.