A tool for the quantitative spatial analysis of mammary gland epithelium

In this paper we present a method for the spatial analysis of complex cellular systems based on a multiscale study of neighborhood relationships. A function to measure those relationships, M, is introduced. The refined relative neighborhood graph is then presented as a method to establish vicinity relationships within layered cellular structures, and particularized to epithelial cell nuclei in the mammary gland. Finally, the method is illustrated with two examples that show interactions within one population of epithelial cells and between two different populations.