Advances in computer-based autoantibodies analysis

Indirect Immunofluorescence (IIF) imaging is the recommended me-thod to detect autoantibodies in patient serum, whose common markers are antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) and autoantibodies directed against double strand DNA (anti-dsDNA). Since the availability of accurately performed and correctly reported laboratory determinations is crucial for the clinicians, an evident medical demand is the development of Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) tools supporting physicians' decisions. In this paper we present a comprehensive system that helps in recognising the presence of ANA and anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. The analysis of CAD performance shows its potential in lowering the method variability, in increasing the level of standardization and in serving as a second reader reducing the physicians' workload. The system has been successfully tested on annotated datasets. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.