Early Experiences in the Staining Pattern Classification of HEp-2 Slides

In autoimmune diseases, indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) represents the recommended method for detection of antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA). IIF diagnosis requires both the estimation of fluorescence intensity and the description of staining pattern, demanding for highly specialized personnel, who are not always available. In this respect, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tools can support physicians´ decision. In this paper we report experiences in the staining pattern recognition of IIF wells. Since several cells constitute each well, we have developed a multiple expert system (MES) devised to classify the pattern of individual cells. The whole well staining pattern is computed on the strength of the recognition of its cells, testing two aggregation rules. The experimental results shows the feasibility of a CAD dedicated to the classification of staining pattern in the IIF field.