1. VUMC Soil Worm Activity Monitor
Mohd Fakhrurrazi Mohd Salleh (EE)
Suhaili Harun (EE)
Amani Rafie (CompE)
Saiful Azlan Adanan (BME)
December 9, 2004

2. Project Goal
Compare the behavior and activity of worms (normal and mutant) by designing a device that can automatically measure their movements, so that it can be used in neurobiological research
Include current method how they measure the worm movement (counting)

3. Project Description
The worm is placed in a drop of liquid (~40μL) using a micro dispenser
After it is placed, it starts to swim in the shape of a “C”
The number of movements are to be quantified as a function of time

4. Problems The worm is very small
Movement calculation is difficult due to unexpected worm’s activity (various directions)
The current method is time consuming
Record the movement of the worm
Make observations from the recorded video

5. Solution Requirements
Easy to use
Easy to modify
Fast
Produces more accurate measurements

6. Approach Use microscope Capture images with a CCD video camera
Apply image processing
Calculate the movement using Matlab program

7. Physical and Electrical Requirements
Worms
Time Code (SMPTE)
NTSC & S-Video
CCD camera
DVR
Adapter
Microscope
Computer

8. Worm (Caenorhabditis elegans)
A free-living nematode, ~1 mm
in length, which lives in a
temperate soil environment
Has the advantage of being a
multicellular organism, which
is simple enough to be studied in great detail
One of the simplest organisms with a nervous system (neurobiology)
About 200 sinusoidal movements per minute

9. SMPTE Time Code Format
A sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing system
Used for time reference for editing, synchronization and identification
(HH:MM:SS:FF)
"hours" ranges from 00 to 23
"minutes" ranges from 00 to 59
"seconds" ranges from 00 to 59
"frames" depends:
for 625-line (PAL) , from 00 to 24.
for 525-line (NTSC), from 00 to 29.

10. NTSC ( National Television Standards Committee )
Resolution of 720 x 480 pixels
Frame rate of 29.93
Runs on 525 lines/frame
Used mainly in North America, Japan and Taiwan

11. S-Video (Super-Video)
Used for transmitting video signals over a cable
Divides the information into 2 signals
Luminance (Brightness)
Chrominance (Color)
Produces a sharper image than composite video

12. Specifications of the CCD camera
NTSC picture element: 768 (H) x 494 (V)
NTSC pixel size: 8.4 m x 9.8 m
Resolution: 750 TV lines
Inputs/Outputs: Keyboards; S-Video output; Head connector; RGB, Color, B/W, Sync Output

13. Formats of Various Tapes
VHS (Video Home System)
S-VHS (Super-VHS)
Betacam
DV (Digital Video)
Mini DV (smaller version of DV)

14. DV film

15. C-Mount Adapters
C-mount refers to the standard thread size and focal distances that are industry standards for video, digital, and other cameras
Used to connect a video camera to a microscope
Different height
Different focal length for the best focus

16. C-Mount Adapters

17. The Microscope

18. Using the reduction lens
0.4x
0.5x
0.63x
1 X

19. There are two possible design layouts
Software approach
Computer captures the video directly using a capture card
Hardware
Using a video recorder (DV)
Include current method how they measure the worm movement (counting)

20. Design 1

21. Analysis of Design 1 More convenient Less Hardware Faster
No data backup

22. Design 2

23. Connecting Processor to Recorder

24. Advantages of Design 2 Data backup on hard copy media (tape)
Preserve quality signal during data transmission

25. Disadvantages of Design 2
Slower
Uses more space

26. Our Design

27. Sampling the worm image
Example of an original image

28. Downsampled using Matlab by 2X

29. Downsampled using Matlab by 4X

30. Downsampled using Matlab by 6X

31. Downsampled using Matlab by 10X

32. Worm Trays

33. Using a “pick” to transfer a worm from the plate

34. Video Image

35. Future Work Ordering the adapter from MEIJI Software development
Capturing images of the worm
Hardware setup