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Mike Rogers

Publications and source records attributed to Mike Rogers.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Using statistical image models for objective evaluation of spot detection in two-dimensional gels.

Protein spot detection is central to the analysis of two-dimensional electrophoresis gel images. There are many commercially available packages, each implementing a protein spot detection algorithm. Despite this, there have been relatively few studies comparing the performance characteristics of the different packages. This is in part due to the fact that different packages employ different sets of user-adjustable parameters. It is also partly due to the fact that the images are complex. To carry out an evaluation, "ground truth" data specifying spot position, shape and intensities needs to be defined subjectively on selected test images. We address this problem by proposing a method of evaluation using synthetic images with unambiguous interpretation. The characteristics of the spots in the synthetic images are determined from statistical models of the shape, intensity, size, spread and location of real spot data. The distribution of parameters is described using a Gaussian mixture model obtained from training images. The synthetic images allow us to investigate the effects of individual image properties, such as signal-to-noise ratios and degree of spot overlap, by measuring quantifiable outcomes, e.g. accuracy of spot position, false positive and false negative detection. We illustrate the approach by carrying out quantitative evaluations of spot detection on a number of widely used analysis packages.

Algorithms↗

Statistical models of shape for the analysis of protein spots in two-dimensional electrophoresis gel images.

In image analysis of two-dimensional electrophoresis gels, individual spots need to be identified and quantified. Two classes of algorithms are commonly applied to this task. Parametric methods rely on a model, making strong assumptions about spot appearance, but are often insufficiently flexible to adequately represent all spots that may be present in a gel. Nonparametric methods make no assumptions about spot appearance and consequently impose few constraints on spot detection, allowing more flexibility but reducing robustness when image data is complex. We describe a parametric representation of spot shape that is both general enough to represent unusual spots, and specific enough to introduce constraints on the interpretation of complex images. Our method uses a model of shape based on the statistics of an annotated training set. The model allows new spot shapes, belonging to the same statistical distribution as the training set, to be generated. To represent spot appearance we use the statistically derived shape convolved with a Gaussian kernel, simulating the diffusion process in spot formation. We show that the statistical model of spot appearance and shape is able to fit to image data more closely than the commonly used spot parameterizations based solely on Gaussian and diffusion models. We show that improvements in model fitting are gained without degrading the specificity of the representation.

Computer Simulation↗