Binuclear Hepatocyte Counter

This program can be used to help pathologists determine the ratio of binuclear hepatocytes against all hepatocytes using HE-stained tissue samples, defined as ABH. ABH in paracancerous liver tissues has been reported by us as an independent risk factor for HCC short-term recurrence[1].

This counter based on an ImageJ script, aiming to reduce the inaccuracy and inconsistency from manually counting binuclear hepatocytes. We hope this website may prove helpful in pathological diagnosis.

To use this website, first upload a photo of HE-stained liver tissue. Note that tumor tissues are not appliable to this program. Then, enter the value for sigma, method, hepatocyte size threshold (size), hepatocyte circularity threshold (circularity) and distance between nuclear in binuclear hepatocytes (distance).
Sigma defines the degree of blurriness when processing the picture. For 2k image, we recommand sigma=5. For 1080p image, we recommand sigma=3. Method should be choose between "Default" and "Huang".
Hepatocyte size threshold defines the lowest possible size for hepatocyte nuclear, in pixel². We recommand starting from a lower threshold and adjust it based on the result.
Hepatocyte circularity threshold is a positive number between 0 and 1. 0 means no requirement for the shape of hepatocyte nuclear, while 1 means only perfectly round nuclear will be considered.
Distance between nuclear in binuclear hepatocytes is a positive number, usually not exceeding 1. It defines the longest distance between nuclear for them to be considered within a cell. Note that the inputed number here act as a factor on the recommand distance generated by the script. We recommand starting with 0.5.
Outline thickness allows you to define the thickness of outlines surrounding hepatocytes' nuclear in the result image.
You can also specify the color of the outlines for hepatocyte nuclear and binuclear hepatocyte nuclear, individually, by entering text into the corresponding box (eg. 'blue' for hepatocyte and 'yellow' for binuclear). False input color will be replaced with light blue.