Semi-automatic Image Processing Algorithm for Cell Counting in Neubauer Chambers

Cell counting is an essential field of cytometry that has many applications in biology and medicine. Neubauer chamber is often used in laboratories to count cells for research of different types of cell cultures. Manual (visual) counting is a tedious and slow process that requires a previously trained professional with full visual capability. This work proposed a semi-automatic algorithm for cell counting in Neubauer cham- bers based on digital image processing. Different from related works that have focused on small cells (such as red blood cells), this work focuses on big cells that are counted in the quadrants at the corners of the Neubauer chamber. Results for digital images obtained from Neubauer chambers from NIH/3T3 Fibroblasts cell cultures show an average error of 4.24% of our algorithm compared to a manual (visual) counting conducted by a biochemical specialist.