Characterization of a Color CCD Camera

A variety of applications in modern molecular cytogenetics have made it clear that we must be able to acquire and process multi-spectral images. In previous reports [1, 2] we described how chromosome enumeration in interphase nuclei using two colors can be accomplished by a monochromatic system. More sophisticated applications of FISH technology, however, make it imperative that the problems associated with true multi-color imaging be addressed. In this paper we describe a first step in that process - the evaluation of a CCD camera that is suitable for high resolution multi-color use. The evaluation methodology, itself, has been presented elsewhere [3] and thus only the main results will be described and applied here. To be specific we characterize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), sensitivity (S), and linearity.

Bibliography

1. Netten H, et al., Automation of FISH dot counting in interphase nuclei: Instrumentation, in Proceedings of the Plenary European Workshop on Automation in Molecular Cytogenetic Analyses, Passau, Germany, 1993, pp. 30.

2. Young IT, et al., Automation of FISH dot counting in interphase nuclei: Results, in Proceedings of the Plenary European Workshop on Automation in Molecular Cytogenetic Analyses, Passau, Germany, 1993, pp. 31.

3. Mullikin JC, Van Vliet LJ, Netten H, Boddeke FR, Van der Feltz G, Young IT: Methods for CCD Camera Characterization. In: Proceedings of the SPIE Conference on Image Acquisition and Scientific Imaging Systems, San Jose, California, SPIE TC-2173, pp. 73-84, 1994.

e-mail: young@ph.tn.tudelft.nl