
1
Introduction
Kenneth R. Castleman and Ian T. Young
1.1 The Microscope and Image
Processing
Invented over 400 years ago, the optical microscope has seen steady improve-
ment and increasing use in biomedical research and clinical medicine as well as
in many other fields [1]. Today many variations of the basic microscope instru-
ment are used with great success, allowing us to peer into spaces much too small
to be seen with the unaided eye. More often than not, in this day and age, the
images produced by a microscope are converted into digital form for storage,
analysis, or processing prior to display and interpretation [2–4]. Digital image
processing greatly ...