Utility of Nuclear Morphometry with ImageJ in Effusion Cytology

An effusion denotes pathological accumulation of fluids in the serous cavities resulting from several nonneoplastic and neoplastic causes. Cytological diagnosis of effusion fluids is an important investigation to determine the appropriate treatment.The distinction of reactive mesothelial cells from carcinoma cells can sometimes prove to be a diagnostic challenge even for the experienced cytopathologist. Hence there is an increasing need to develop cost-effective ancillary methods to enhance the accuracy of cytologic diagnosis (Murugan et al., 2009; Bunjhoo et al., 2012; Cheng et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2013; Yildirim et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2013; 2014). Image morphometry is one such ancillary technique and often requires expensive software and hardware for image acquisition and analysis. This limits its utility in routine practice. Hence a cost-effective alternative for image analysis is the need of the hour for pathologists and researchers in developing Asian countries. ImageJ is a freely available java-based public-domain image processing and analysis program developed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA (Rasband, 1997-2014). ImageJ has proved to be an excellent cost effective tool and is being widely utilised for various research purposes. A number of nuclear morphometric and shape descriptors