Leginon: Automated Acquisition of 1000 Electron Micrographs a Day

Bridget Carragher & Clint Potter

Directors
Imaging Technology Group

10 September 1998

The Imaging Technology Group is developing a system for automated identification of specimens and acquisition of high resolution images for 3D macromolecular electron microscopy. Our objective is to develop an intelligent microscope for the electron microscopy community. Electron microscopy as a technique has the potential to provide vital information on protein structures that cannot be obtained by any other means. Currently, however, this requires the acquisition of very large numbers of high quality images by an experienced microscopist. Recent developments in computing architecture, intelligent feature recognition algorithms, and machine learning techniques provide the potential for replacing the human operator with an intelligent system. We will give an overview of the current status of the system.