Image Processing Techniques for Biomedical Applications

Image processing is a broad field that encompasses digital, analog, and optical methods to enhance an image to better extract information. Continuing advancements in medical imaging and imaging for biomedical applications forces image processing to grow vertically to meet the demands of new modalities and horizontally to allow for widespread interdisciplinary use. This thesis consists of three main parts: an introduction to image formation and common modalities, followed by a walk-through of Fourier phase contrast microscopy (FPCM)—an optical image processing technique developed at UMass Boston, and lastly a presentation of a custom graphic user interface (GUI) that incorporates multiple well-known digital image processing techniques. We demonstrate the quantitative capability FPCM to extrapolate 3D information from 2D images and promote interdisciplinary research collaborations by sharing the GUI. Further advancements in quantitative Fourier phase contrast microscopy could allow the simple, novel, low-cost tool to become more widespread and additional updates to the GUI could promote more diverse collaborative works