A semi-automated analysis method of small sensory nerve fibers in human skin-biopsies.

Computerized detection method (CDM) software programs have been extensively developed in the field of astronomy to process and analyze images from nearby bright stars to tiny galaxies at the edge of the Universe. These object-recognition algorithms have potentially broader applications, including the detection and quantification of cutaneous small sensory nerve fibers (SSNFs) found in the dermal and epidermal layers, and in the intervening basement membrane of a skin punch biopsy. Here, we report the use of astronomical software adapted as a semi-automated method to perform density measurements of SSNFs in skin-biopsies imaged by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM).