MacStereology

MacStereology is package designed to make measurements of images and to make 3-D reconstructions. Input to MacStereology is either from a digitising tablet or from Pict files. The boundaries of the objects of interest can therefore be drawn by hand on the tablet or traced automatically on a binary image. From these boundaries and the magnification, parameters such as area, perimeter and centre of gravity are calculated. If the co-ordinates of each boundary are also saved, together with the section thicknesses then 3-D reconstructions can be displayed, printed or plotted, using a wireframe (for pen plotter), layers or surface plot. MacStereology should work with any Macintosh with at least 1 Mbyte memory. It was designed for a MacII with 8-bit colour, but is OK in grey tones or black and white.

Platforms: Macintosh.
FTP: A demo version is available at zippy.nimh.nih.gov:/pub/nih-image/programs.
Comments:
- Stephen M Echteler: [...]MacStereology to do some 3D reconstructions of developing sensory neurons. The program is rather expensive ($750) and the Mac interface is a bit buggy. I'd really appreciate comments from anyone who: 1) has used this program or 2) could suggest an alternative application with similar features.
- John Russ: Well, I've been a MacStereology user for several years now. We use it in our research (3D reconstructions from all kinds of imaging including TEM, confocal light, and x-ray microtomography), as well as in teaching courses to grad students, and like it a lot.
  There are only three basic approaches to 3D reconstruction: a) volumetric (transparency) imaging like VoxelView or VoxBlast, which shows all of the data, but can be VERY time consuming to fiddle with all of the transparency, lighting, etc., parameters to reveal the important aspects of structure (they really require you to already know what is there, and just use the program to show it to others); b) resectioning approaches like Spyglass Dicer, which allows you to examine arbitrary sections but cannot show the important topological characteristics present in the 3D volume; and c) surface rendering, as in MacStereology, which is very efficient (small files and fast displays), shows the topology and presents images that appear natural because we are all used to seeing surfaces, but accomplishes this by hiding other detail including internal structures behind the surfaces. The three approaches are complementary and we use them all, but if I had to choose, I would take Macstereology first, Spyglass Dicer a very close second, and Voxelview (or Voxblast) a distant third, based on the amount they are used, and the response of students and researchers to the images (how much they can learn from them, how difficult it is to interact with them, etc.).
  As to the two specific complaints: I don't agree that the interface is "buggy." It does have a few peculiarities that are not totally Mac-like, like fiddling with the display LUT and taking over the whole window, but you can turn that off if you like. Whenever I've found a bug (usually when Apple releases a system upgrade or new hardware), the author has fixed it pretty quickly, and he is also very good about giving advice via e-mail.
  And the complaint about the price is really sort of annoying. Photoshop costs nearly as much, but consider the number of copies they sell? What do you think Spyglass' set of programs cost? Or how about Voxelview which is considerably more expensive? How much did you spend for your computer+ camera+ interface+ microscope+ printer+... - well you get the idea. $750 for a program that has taken man-years to develop and has a very specialized market is hardly high-priced. You are just spoiled because Image is free (well, unless you count that we all pay taxes to support Wayne). In the PC world, you would spend $2K or more for a program equivalent to Image. Expensive? No, expensive is trying to do without a tool you need.