Quality metrics for IMC data including signal-to-noise, channel correlation, tissue integrity, and acquisition QC. Use when assessing data quality before analysis or troubleshooting problematic acquisitions.
import numpy as np
from scipy import ndimage
from skimage import io
def calculate_snr(image, mask=None):
'''Calculate signal-to-noise ratio for an image channel.'''
if mask is None:
mask = image > np.percentile(image, 10)
signal = np.mean(image[mask])
noise = np.std(image[~mask])
if noise == 0:
return np.inf
snr = signal / noise
return snr
def calculate_snr_all_channels(image_stack, channel_names, tissue_mask=None):
'''Calculate SNR for all channels in stack.'''
results = {}
for i, name in enumerate(channel_names):
snr = calculate_snr(image_stack[i], tissue_mask)
results[name] = snr
return results
image_stack = io.imread('imc_image.tiff')
channel_names = ['CD45', 'CD3', 'CD68', 'panCK', 'DNA']
snr_values = calculate_snr_all_channels(image_stack, channel_names)
for ch, snr in snr_values.items():
status = 'PASS' if snr > 3 else 'WARN' if snr > 1.5 else 'FAIL'
print(f'{ch}: SNR = {snr:.2f} [{status}]')
def calculate_channel_correlation(image_stack, channel_names):
'''Calculate pairwise correlation between channels.'''
n_channels = image_stack.shape[0]
flat_data = image_stack.reshape(n_channels, -1)
corr_matrix = np.corrcoef(flat_data)
import pandas as pd
corr_df = pd.DataFrame(corr_matrix, index=channel_names, columns=channel_names)
return corr_df
def flag_unexpected_correlations(corr_df, expected_pairs=None, threshold=0.7):
'''Flag unexpected high correlations (possible spillover).'''
issues = []
if expected_pairs is None:
expected_pairs = []
for i, ch1 in enumerate(corr_df.columns):
for j, ch2 in enumerate(corr_df.columns):
if i >= j:
continue
corr = corr_df.loc[ch1, ch2]
pair = (ch1, ch2)
is_expected = pair in expected_pairs or (ch2, ch1) in expected_pairs
if corr > threshold and not is_expected:
issues.append({'channel_1': ch1, 'channel_2': ch2, 'correlation': corr, 'expected': is_expected})
return pd.DataFrame(issues)
corr_matrix = calculate_channel_correlation(image_stack, channel_names)
print('Channel correlations:')
print(corr_matrix.round(2))
expected = [('CD3', 'CD45')]
issues = flag_unexpected_correlations(corr_matrix, expected)
if len(issues) > 0:
print('\nUnexpected high correlations:')
print(issues)
def assess_tissue_integrity(dna_channel, min_coverage=0.3):
'''Assess tissue coverage and integrity from DNA channel.'''
threshold = np.percentile(dna_channel, 50)
tissue_mask = dna_channel > threshold
total_pixels = dna_channel.size
tissue_pixels = np.sum(tissue_mask)
coverage = tissue_pixels / total_pixels
labeled, n_fragments = ndimage.label(tissue_mask)
fragment_sizes = ndimage.sum(tissue_mask, labeled, range(1, n_fragments + 1))
largest_fragment = np.max(fragment_sizes) if len(fragment_sizes) > 0 else 0
fragmentation = 1 - (largest_fragment / tissue_pixels) if tissue_pixels > 0 else 1
return {
'coverage': coverage,
'n_fragments': n_fragments,
'fragmentation': fragmentation,
'intact': coverage > min_coverage and fragmentation < 0.5
}
dna_channel = image_stack[channel_names.index('DNA')]
integrity = assess_tissue_integrity(dna_channel)
print(f"Tissue coverage: {integrity['coverage']:.1%}")
print(f"Fragments: {integrity['n_fragments']}")
print(f"Fragmentation: {integrity['fragmentation']:.2f}")
print(f"Status: {'PASS' if integrity['intact'] else 'FAIL'}")
def check_acquisition_artifacts(image_stack, channel_names):
'''Check for common acquisition artifacts.'''
results = []
for i, name in enumerate(channel_names):
channel = image_stack[i]
saturated = np.sum(channel >= channel.max() * 0.99) / channel.size
if saturated > 0.01:
results.append({'channel': name, 'issue': 'saturation', 'severity': saturated})
hot_pixels = np.sum(channel > np.percentile(channel, 99.9) * 2) / channel.size
if hot_pixels > 0.001:
results.append({'channel': name, 'issue': 'hot_pixels', 'severity': hot_pixels})
dead_regions = np.sum(channel == 0) / channel.size
if dead_regions > 0.05:
results.append({'channel': name, 'issue': 'dead_regions', 'severity': dead_regions})
row_means = np.mean(channel, axis=1)
row_cv = np.std(row_means) / np.mean(row_means)
if row_cv > 0.3:
results.append({'channel': name, 'issue': 'striping', 'severity': row_cv})
return pd.DataFrame(results)
artifacts = check_acquisition_artifacts(image_stack, channel_names)
if len(artifacts) > 0:
print('Artifacts detected:')
print(artifacts)