Scene segmentation techniques for the analysis of routine bone marrow smears from acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Automated analysis of lymphoblast cell morphology is being evaluated as a basis for predicting the response to therapy of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A new technique of scene segmentation particularly applicable to the "cluttered" images of cells in routine bone marrow smears is described. Morphologic characteristics of lymphoblasts found in bone marrow smears made at time of diagnosis were measured by an automated, interactive image-processing system using the new scene segmentation technique. These characteristics, on a patient by patient basis, are being compared to remission length and survival data to develop and test new prognostic methods.