WiSoft® Athena: Push-Button Image Analysis Software
Intuitive, Powerful, Precise
Athena is a rich and simple application-based image analysis software for easy and quick evaluation of cell biology experimental results.Athena performs common and advanced cell biology applications at the push-of-a-button.
An analysis platform for the most common cell biology applications
WiScan Athena is a software tool for application-derived analysis and visualization of image-based experiments. The software incorporates embedded analysis algorithms, statistical evaluation tools and sub-population analysis tools, based on advanced cell quantification tools for measuring fluorescence intensity and morphological features. It consists of a library of pre-built analysis modules applied to data sets of both labeled and non-labeled cells, thus Athena is capable of analyzing images acquired in bright field and fluorescence illumination microscopy.
Easy to use, push-button operation
All level users can be easily trained and use this platform simply and independently. Athena offers a bank of ready-made applications which are loaded by the push of a button and allow the user to start analysis within a few minutes, after performing mild parameter calibrations. The UI and UX are optimized for analyzing image-based cell biology experiments. New comers to high content image analysis can get productive right away using Athena’s pre-configured templates for the most common cell biology applications.
Analysis can be performed on a cell-by-cell basis and at population level.
Individual cells can be measured & quantified both for single cell analysis and for subpopulation analysis. Athena contains a population tool which in similarity with cytometry experiments, can be used to define sub-populations of cells in each well and quantify properties of this sub-population based on cellular phenotypes.
Image acquisition and image analysis can be done simultaneously, independently & at separate locations.
View and analyze data from any computer that has an installation of the Athena software, freeing up the Hermes imager for others to use. Experiment time is significantly reduced as images acquired in Hermes system are being uploaded in real-time to a shared storage, from which Athena software extracts data for analysis, in parallel to the image acquisition process. Experiment metadata, such as filters, objectives, plate type, fields & coverage, time points, z-stack or exposure, are stored in the database for future reference.
Straightforward, simple visual results display.
Athena software offers various visualization tools to display the analysis results. At the end of each analysis process, the user can quickly & easily create a summary report summarizing the analysis parameters and presenting the results. Raw data can be easily exported as an excel file to external sources if necessary.
Athena includes all the following cell biology assays as read-made application:
| Application Name | Description | Color Channels | Biological Assays | Metrics Quantified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cell Count | Count fluorescently labeled cells or objects | 1 Color Nucleus | Autophagy; Apoptosis; Cytotoxicity; Cell Viability; Cellular proliferation; Growth rate; Viral plaque assay | Area; Fluorescence intensity |
| Cell Morphology | Fluorescently labeled cells or objects shape quantification Ideal for assessment of cellular heath | 1 Color Cytoplasm | Sub-cellular features quantification:Nuclei; Actin; Microtubules; Golgi; Vesicles; Focal adhesions; Mitochondria | Area Perimeter. Shape metrics: Long/short axis length; Elongation ratio; Convex Hull (CH) area; Solidity |
| Protein Expression | Single-cell fluorescence intensity quantification | 3 Colors Nucleus Cytoplasm Protein of interest | Cell Health assessment; Protein degradation; Protein Localization; Protein translocation; Intracellular distribution analysis; Autophagy (t1/2) assays; Ubiquitination; Protein Aggregation & Accumulation; Transfection efficiency; Gene therapy; Pharmacology & pharmaco-kinetics | Area; Perimeter Fluorescence intensity |
| Cell Cycle | Determine cell cycle populations using quantitative DNA labeling | 1 Color Nucleus | Proliferation assays; Cell cycle arrest detection; Cytotoxicity; Cell Viability | Area; Fluorescence intensity |
| Translocation | Quantifies the intensity ratio between the sub-cellular compartments | 3 Colors Nucleus Cytoplasm Protein of interest | Nuclear signaling assays; Innate immune response; Intra-organelle localization; Intracellular distribution analysis | Fluorescence intensity; Nucleus/Cytoplasm Intensity ratio |
Specialized Applications:
| Application Name | Description | Color Channels | Biological Assays | Metrics Quantified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intracellular Granules | Quantify cytoplasmic granules for shape, intensity and number | 3 Colors Nucleus Cytoplasm Granule channel” | Protein aggregation; Vesicle trafficking; Puncta analysis; Endo/exocytosis; Receptor or protein clustering | Granule count; Granule intensity; Granule area & shape |
| Cell Count in Colonies | Colony count estimation extrapolated from single cell fluorescence intensities | 1 Color Nucleus or cell | Bacterial colony cell count; Small, high density cellular colonies e.g. Embryonic stem cells | Populations: Single cells,Colonies; Morphology; Fluorescence intensity |
| Intranuclear Foci | Detection and quantification of intranuclear foci and puncta | 3 Colors Nucleus Cytoplasm Foci channel | Intranuclear protein aggregation; Nucleolar detection; Transcription factor detection; Chromatin detection | Nuclear area; Foci count; Foci intensity; Foci area & shape |
| Quantitative Cytometry | Multiplex quantitation of biomarkers or objects within cells or nuclei | 1-7 Colors Nucleus or cell 1 color for each object of interest | Cytotoxicity; Autophagy; Apoptosis; Cellular fusion; Multi-plasmid transfection; Live/Dead measurement; Bacterial viability; Multi-color foci/puncta | Count per object; Intensity per object |
| Live-Dead Toxicology | Quantify live vs. dead cells using cell viability markers | 2 Colors Live cells Dead cells | Cytotoxicity; Toxicology; Cell viability; Pharmacology & pharmacokinetics | Live cells count; Dead cell count |
| Spheroid Morphology | Morphology and fluorescence intensity quantification for 3D cell culture | 1 Color Nuclei or Brightfield | Drug dose response curves; Cytotoxcitity; Toxicology; Growth curves; Pharmacology & pharmacokinetics | Area; Perimeter; Morphology; Solidity; Fluorescence intensity |
| Colony Detection | Label-free cell colony detection providing true single-cell count per colony | Brightfield | Clonogenic assay; Radiotherapy assay; Dose response curve; Cell viability & proliferation; Pharmacology & pharmacokinetics | Colony metrics: Single cell counting; Size; Morphology |
| Yeast Quantification | Brightfield yeast cell segmentation & counting | Brightfield + luorescence | Cell replication & proliferation; Genetic profiling; RNA colocalization with intracellular organelle in yeast | Count close distance events; Number of RNA spots per cell; Number of organelle per cell |
| Fiber Detection | Detect fiber and cytoskeletal intra-cellular structure | 1 Color Fibers | Cytoskeletal rearrangement | Fiber length Count per cell; Fluorescence intensity |
| Confluency | Label-free measure of the area fraction covered by cells or colonies | Brightfield | Cell viability & proliferation; Radiotherapy assay; Growth rates; Population pharmacology & pharmacokinetics | Confluency; Total cell area |
| Mitochondria Quantification | Quantification of mitochondria distribution, morphology and intensity | 3 Colors Nucleus Cytoplasm Mitochondria | Cellular metabolism; Cell health and viability; Mitochondrial dynamics: Number; Size; Distribution | Mitochondria count per cell; Intensity of mitochondria; Morphological properties; Distance from nucleus |
| Colocalization | Measure distance between fluorescence objects | 2 Colors | Protein-protein interactions; Intracellular transport; Endo/exocytosis; Subcellular drug sequestration | Colocalization pixel count; Colocalizing area |
| Colocalization | Measure distance between fluorescence objects | 2 Colors | Protein-protein interactions; Intracellular transport; Endo/exocytosis; Subcellular drug sequestration | Colocalization pixel count; Colocalizing area |
| Cell Count in Brightfield | Label-free cell counting in adherent cell culture | Brightfield | Cell viability & proliferation; Radiotherapy assay; Growth rates; Pharmacology & pharmacokinetics | Count Cell area |
| Zebrafish | Detect fluorescent structures or objects within zebrafish | 2 Colors Brightfield Fluorescent object | Bacterial infection; Metastasis growth assay | |
| C. elegans | Detect fluorescent structures or objects within C. elegans | 2 Colors Brightfield Fluorescent object | Cell type identification | |
| Scratch Assay | Detect scratch edge to measure the scratch area relative to total | “2 Colors Brightfield Fluorescent object | “Wound healing scratch assay |
Technical specs of Athen software:
- Windows 7 or Windows 10 required
- Athena Software runs under 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.
- Results report produced in PDF format
- Raw data can be exported in CSV format to Excel
- Supported image formats: TIFF, OME, JPEG and more
Athena software supports loading images with, and without their Metadata. Metadata supported formats include OME format and Hermes format. Most common microscope formats are convertible to OME using BIO-Formats converter which is included in Fiji, and can be added to ImageJ. Click here for further info. Without metadata, supported types are: *.tif, *.tiff, *.png, *.bmp, *.jpg, *.jpeg.
Users can manually define pixel size, group images by textual filter to different wavelengths, and define stacks as Z or T stacks.
When loading a dataset with its metadata, Athena can read the following main key features, among others:
- Dimensions of each image: well, in well field, wavelength, time index, Z stack index. Note – Plate index isn’t supported yet. If you need it please contact us.
- Pixel size
- Plate info
- Objective
Typical size and storage
Size of typical sample:
- Images – TIF format 1-10 GB
- Masks – special format – 1 MB
- Analyzed data – CSV files – 1-10 KB
Storage of typical sample:
- Data set including reports
- Images in well folders
Application Notes
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A platform of ready-made cell imaging
analysis applications.
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Suitable for rapid analysis of
very large image datasets
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