Claire Smith: ciliaFA: A research tool for automated, high-throughput measurement of ciliary beat frequency using ImageJ and Microsoft Excel

We have developed an automated method of cilia beat frequency (CBF) analysis from digital video (.AVI) files by looping from ImageJ to Microsoft Excel. The software (entitled “ciliaFA”) extracts pixel intensity measurements using ImageJ and performs fast Fourier transformation (FFT) using Microsoft Excel. Using Java to communicate between the two programs this ImageJ plugin allows accurate, automated, high throughput measurement of respiratory and ependymal ciliary beat frequency (range 3 – 52 Hz) and avoids operator error due to selection bias.

cilia beat frequency, respiratory infection, high throughput, ImageJ-Excel loop

Presenting author: Dr Claire Smith
Organisation: University College London

co-authors: Jana Djakow, Robert C. Free, Petr Djakow, Rana Lonnen, Gwyneth Williams, Robert A. Hirst, Peter W. Andrew, Christopher O’Callaghan.