A group of engineers from the Drexel University recently developed a software program called Lineage Editing and Validation program or LEVER that lets biologists track and study live cells.

Researchers from the University's College of Engineering led by Dr. Andrew Cohen, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering developed the program to enhance visual data to help scientists easily study cell movements.

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Cohen said "this type of imaging is so important because it allows us to see and measure relationships between cells and their environment."

Normally, biologists observe time lapse images of cells and manually note when they multiply later, to create a graphic representation of these cells' division called a lineage tree.

The process takes more time for researchers to create a tree.

The LEVER software aims to enable researchers accurately delineate cells and color-code them to indicate the exact time of their division. It provides more data than the typical process.

"It's like Photoshop for cell biologists," Cohen said.

"The software outlines cells and blood vessels, keeping track of them as they're dividing and moving around one another."

Cohen added "This provides a wealth of information on the patterns of cell shape, motion and division."

"Visualization of the 3-D microscopy data together with the analysis results is a key step to measure and ultimately understand what drives these cells."

TagsLEVER, 3D Imaging cell movements