Bioimage simulation and its applications

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12146
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Life / Health / Medical informatics
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Watabe Masaki 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命機能科学研究センター, 研究員 (70599480)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 生物画像シミュレーション / 全反射顕微鏡 / レーザー走査型共焦点顕微鏡

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cooperativity in biomolecular binding processes represents a primary and highly general mechanism for achieving the collective behaviour that emerges in systems-level properties of macromolecules, pathways, cells and organisms. Recent progress in robotics and automated techniques for sampling and analyzing complex biological data can reduce statistical uncertainties (or errors) in measuring cooperativity. An identification of the systematic uncertainties that arise from inaccuracy in the measurement processes, however, requires a non-empirical approach. Here, we propose a comprehensive method to quantitatively evaluate the systematic variances computed not only from a computer simulation of live-cell imaging systems, but also image processing and pattern recognition algorithms for biological images. We then demonstrate that such non-statistical variances can affect our biological interpretation of cooperativity in a binding system of interest.

Free Research Field

生物物理

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

詳細な生物画像シミュレーションが実現することで、生物イメージングを行なう前にシステムを定量的に設計・評価・予想することができるようになる。具体的には、以下のことが将来的に実現できることを期待できる。[1] 理論モデルの予想・評価・修正、[2] 計測系の精度の評価・予想、[3] 系統的な効果・不確定性の評価・予想、[4] 実験計画と計測機器の設計・評価・改善・予想、[5] 試料の特性に合わせた特化型計測系の開発、などなど想像力は尽きない。
本研究では、特に[3]の「計測における系統誤差の評価」を実現した。