Automatic counting of nuclear tracks

Two software packages designed for automatic counting nuclear tracks are tested and compared. The image processing in the first package is divided into three parts segmentation, speckle elimination and removal of ill-formed track holes. The second package is also divided into three parts but the last part is modified such that the track holes with white centres are filled by the program. The processes in the second package are done by the use of mathematical morphology. From the test, it was found that the first package has severe limitations for the working range. The second package provides a greater working range but the running time of the program is longer than that of the first package.