Performance analysis of software for identification of intestinal parasites

ABSTRACTIntroduction:Intestinal parasites are among the most frequent diagnoses worldwide. An accurate clinical diagnosis of human parasitic infections depends on laboratory confirmation for specific differentiation of the infectious agent.Objectives:To create technological solutions to help parasit...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Gomes,Andressa P., Noguerol,Luana, Bez,Marta R., Tavares,Rejane G.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2015
Country:Brasil
Institution:Sociedade Brasileira de Patologia (SBP)
Repository:Jornal Brasileiro de Patologia e Medicina Laboratorial (Online)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:scielo:S1676-24442015000400218
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1676-24442015000400218
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:software
images
parasitological diagnosis
HPJ
Trichuris trichiura
Ascaris lumbricoides
Description
Summary:ABSTRACTIntroduction:Intestinal parasites are among the most frequent diagnoses worldwide. An accurate clinical diagnosis of human parasitic infections depends on laboratory confirmation for specific differentiation of the infectious agent.Objectives:To create technological solutions to help parasitological diagnosis, through construction and use of specific software.Material and method:From the images obtained from the sediment, the software compares the morphometry, area, perimeter and circularity, and uses the information on specific morphological and staining characteristics of parasites and allows the potential identification of parasites.RESULTS:Our results demonstrate satisfactory performance, from a total of 204 images analyzed, 81.86% had the parasite correctly identified by the computer system, and 18.13% could not be identified, due to the large amount of fecal debris in the sample evaluated.Discussion:Currently the techniques used in Parasitology area are predominantly manual, probably being affected by variables, such as attention and experience of the professional. Therefore, the use of computerization in this sector can improve the performance of parasitological analysis.Conclusions:This work contributes to the computerization of healthcare area, and benefits both health professionals and their patients, in addition to provide a more efficient, accurate and secure diagnosis.