Quantitative Computer Analysis of Autoradiographs Utilizing a Charge-coupled Device Solid-state Camera

A computerized image-processing system that employs a high resolution Datacopy Corporation charge-coupled device (CCD) camera is described. The CCD camera generates 327,680 pixels (512 horizontal axis by 640 vertical axis), eight bits per pixel (256 grey levels). The image is then processed by a Digital Graphics TKS-400 imaging computer system. The computer image corresponds to the optical density information contained in the autoradiograms. Depending on the autoradiographic information, the image can be displayed as functional maps, i.e. maps of cerebral metabolism, blood flow, neurotransmitter receptor densities, etc. This system provides quantitative computer analysis of autoradiograms in a relatively inexpensive manner.