Microscopic image analysis in cervical cytology

Microscopic image analysis was used to quantify multiple cellular features in 54 cervical samples. Evaluation of the quantitative information was compared with the cytologic diagnosis of cervical smears. Measurements of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 14 dysplastic cases gave a skewed pattern for total DNA content per cell in intermediate cells and a significantly higher DNA content in cells classified as dysplastic. The intermediate cells in 8 normally diagnosed cases revealed a skew pattern for DNA distributions similar to dysplastic cases which suggests a risk group in the normal population. The quantitative information provided by microscopic image analysis assists cytologic diagnosis of cervical samples and may reduce diagnostic uncertainty.<>