1979/12/26 by Judith M. S. Prewitt · 1 voice
Engineering · #Image Processing Techniques and Applications #Optical Polarization and Ellipsometry
paper · doi:10.1117/12.958214
openalex publication_date 1979/12/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Robert Hooke conjectured about fluid circulation in plants as well as in animals in Micrographia in a passage that is equally important as a commentary on the dependence, not of technology on science, but of science on technology: It seems very probable that Nature has ... very many appropriated instruments and contrivances, whereby to bring her designs and end to pass, which 'tis not improbable but that some diligent observer, if helped with better Microscopes, may in time detect. This paper, written in the form of a scientific poem, reviews the current and near-future state-of-the-art of automated intelligent microscopes based on computer science and technology. The basic concepts of computer intelligence for cytology and histology are presented and elaborated. Limitations of commercial devices and research proto-types are examined (Dx), and remedies are suggested (Rx). The course of action pro-posed and being undertaken constitutes an original contribution toward advancing the state-of-the-science, in the hope of advancing the state-of-the-art of medicine. With rapid, contemporary advances in both science and technology, it may now be appropriate to modify Hooke's passage: It seems very probable that Nature has ... very many appropriated instruments and contrivances, whereby to bring her designs and end to pass, which 'tis not improbable but that some diligent observer, if helped with Intelligent Microscopes, may in time detect.