(Chapter 9). The 8-connected pixel neighborhood is used to determine the pixel
belonging to a certain object. Each pixel in the connected neighborhood is then
assigned a unique number so that all the pixels belonging to an object will have
the same unique label. The number of pixels in each object is computed and used
as a measure of cell size. Subsequently, shape analysis is used to discard large cell
clusters and noncircular objects. Further, a morphological technique is used for
automatically cutting touching cells apart (Chapter 8). The morphological
algorithm shrinks the objects until they separate, and then it thins the back-
ground to define cutting lines. An exclusive-OR operation then separates the
cells. Cell boundaries are smoothed by a