Diatrack particle tracking software: review of applications and performance evaluation

Abstract
Object tracking is an instrumental tool supporting studies of cellular trafficking. There are three challenges in object tracking: the identification of targets; the precise determination of their position and boundaries, and the assembly of correct trajectories. This last challenge is particularly relevant when dealing with densely populated images with low signal‐to‐noise ratios ‐ conditions that are often encountered in applications such as organelle tracking, virus particle tracking, or single‐molecule imaging. We have developed a set of methods that can handle a wide variety of signal complexities. They are compiled into a free software package called Diatrack. Here we review its main features and utility in a range of applications, providing a survey of the dynamic imaging field together with recommendations for effective use. The performance of our framework is shown to compare favorably to a wide selection of custom‐developed algorithms, whether in terms of localization precision, processing speed, or correctness of tracks.

SYNOPSIS
In digital microscopy, it is often necessary to track and quantify the motion of moving targets such as endosomes, viral particles, or single molecules. In this Toolbox article, the Diatrack object tracking software is introduced and shown suitable for a wide array of scenarios. Application to movies of simulated targets in controlled conditions is used to demonstrate the framework's performance on an objective basis. E...

Source: Traffic - September 25, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Pascal Vallotton, Antoine M. van Oijen, Cynthia B. Whitchurch, Vladimir Gelfand, Leslie Yeo, Georgios Tsiavaliaris, Stephanie Heinrich, Elisa Dultz, Karsten Weis, David Gr ünwald Tags: TOOLBOX Source Type: research