TULIPS: the Uppsala-Linkoping Image Processing System

Abstract

The Uppsala-Linkoping Image Processing System, TULIPS, is described. TULIPS, a hardware-software system designed for cell image processing, was developed at Uppsala University Hospital in cooperation with the Department of Electrical Engineering at Linkoping University. The hardware part of the image processing system is built around a high-speed data bus with a capacity of about 40 M byte/sec connected to a PDP-11/55 host computer. An image memory, an LSI-11 microcomputer and a video interface for displaying the image memory content on a TV monitor are also connected to the high-speed bus. An automated microscope and a "Poulsen processor" for low resolution segmentation, both to be attached to the high-speed bus, are being developed. A monitor and an interpreter for an image processing language have been implemented on the host computer. This software system allows interactive, as well as batch, processing. The degree of user interaction is easily adapted to the user's needs. The image processing language is command oriented, and it is easily expanded by adding new commands. The system has been used both for studies in the field of quantitative microscopy and as a platform for development and testing of new image processing algorithms.