count nuclei in low mag image

Posted by katrina on Nov 22, 2013; 2:16am
URL: http://imagej.273.s1.nabble.com/count-nuclei-in-low-mag-image-tp5005647.html


Hello all,

I am trying to count the number of cells (white dots) and detect the x,y coordinates of each one in this image.  I've tried using Fiji to do this but I can't detect all of the individual cells very well.  This is what I've tried:

1. Process>>Filter>>Gaussian Blur to run a Gaussian Blur Filter (I've also tried without running this filter)
2. Image>>Adjust>>Threshold>>Select Dark Background to separate the cells from the background
3. Process>>Binary>>Watershed to try to separate touching cells, but it doesn't separate larger clumps of cells very well as shown below.
   

Can I do any additional processing so that I can identify individual cells better?  I don't need to preserve the size of the cells, just their position and the total number of cells.  

I would greatly appreciate help with this!!!!  Thank you!

Katrina