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HYDROPTIC, 8
avenue du Commandant Taillefer, 31230 L' Isle en Dodon, Haute
Garonne, France |
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 Phone: 09 63 24 82 20 Fax: 05 61 89 37
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ZooSCAN
Introduction:
First conceived in 1987 and built and patented by a CRNS team led by
Gabriel Gorsky at LOV (Laboratoire Océanographie de
Villefranche sur Mer) the
ZooSCAN system has been
under continuous development ever since. The team's original objective
was first to develop a system for the non-destructive investigation of
liquid zooplankton samples which could be automated and which would
provide a re-usable and permanent record of the fauna and particulate
material present. It was then recognized that a crucial feature of the
recovered images should be their easy comparison with other data sets
collected throughout the world. This required standardization of
enumeration, sizing and identification methods so that a common basis
for global study could be established. These objectives have been
achieved and have led to the establishment of a homogenous, permanent
and secure digital zooplankton image data banks available to
researchers world-wide.
The
ZooSCAN (CNRS patent) system makes use of scanner
technology with custom lighting and a watertight scanning chamber into
which liquid zooplankton samples can be placed. The scanner recovers a
high-resolution, digitial image and the sample can be recovered without
damage. (You can download an example image exactly as it was recovered .)
These digital images can then be investigated by computer processing.
While the resolution of the digitized zooplankton images is lower than
the image obtained using a binocular microscope this technique has
proved to be more than adequate for large sample sets. Identification
of species is done by automatic comparison of the image (vignette) of
each individual animal in the scanned image with a library data set
which may be built by the investigator for each individual survey or
imported from a previous survey. The latest machine learning algorithm
allows high recognition levels even if we recommend complementary
manual sorting to achieve a high number of taxonomic groups (see )
Thus, the resulting benefits of the Zooscan system are:
The preparation of detailed meta-data for each scanned image.
The ability to present the enumeration and identification results
graphically e.g. for direct comparison with the results of
other/previous surveys.
The facilitation of the migration of individual data sets to permanent
and secure electronic archives.
The development of recommendations for future monitoring efforts and
for more detailed re-analysis of existing sample archives.
The development and sharing of protocols for within-region and
within-time period data treatment.
The facilitation of a global comparison of zooplankton time series
The identification of a representative set of "long zooplankton time
series"
Why use the ZooSCAN image analysis system for zooplankton
identification and enumeration?
Manual analysis is time-consuming and requires expert
familiarity with the fauna.
Particle counters measure general abundance and size-spectra, but they
give little taxonomic information.
Automatic image analysis provides both size and identification
information for 75% to 90% of the zooplankton in a sample.
Digital images are automatically assigned full metadata information and
are easy to manipulate, share and store securely.
In summary, the ZOOSCAN system is:
- specifically designed for the high-resolution/high-speed
digitalization of mesozooplankton and micronekton samples.
- provided with a software for automatic objects analysis and
measurement.
- supplemented with an innovative and powerful automatic recognition
system that uses comparison with user-developed or imported image data
sets.
- capable of incorporating metadata outputs in the form of
spreadsheets, graphs and databases.
ZooSCAN specifications:
Dimensions (LxWxH): 60 x 54 x 36 cm (Cover closed)
Weight: 25 Kg
Input voltage : 110 to 230 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz
Interface: USB 2.0
Resistant to salt water, formaldehyde and ethanol.
Specifications: Samples
ZooSCAN is designed to handle and digitize liquid
samples
Sample volume: 0.2litre to 1 litre
Non-destructive with safe sample recovery
Specifications: Images
High resolution, optimized for objects above
200µ equivalent spherical diameter
Image resolution: up to 4800 dpi (dots per inch)
Each image is 14,150 x 22,640 pixels and may contains hundreds, even
thousands, of individual animals.
Each image is processed as a single frame of 24.5cm x 15.8cm. An actual
image may be downloaded For further details
see
Bottom illumination to allow sample dispersion
Optimized lighting system to enhance image quality and contrast
Supplied with transparent frames for good quality images at borders
Computer Support
ZooSCAN is supported by a number
of open-source computer programmes. Details of these programmes are to
be found .
General information on the computer hardware support required is to be
found .
HYDROPTIC reserves the right to
amend this information at any time.
ZooSCAN
