Fusing multimodal microscopy data for improved cell boundary estimation and fluorophore localization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

With advances in experimental technologies, the use of biological imaging has grown rapidly and there is need for procedures to combine data arising from different modalities. We propose a procedure to combine yellow fluorescence protein excitation and differential interference contrast microscopy time lapse videos to better estimate the cellular boundary of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and localization of it’s type VI secretion system (T6SS). By approximating the shape by an ellipse, we construct a penalized objective function which accounts for both sources; the minimum of which provides an elliptical approximation to their cellular boundaries. Our approach suggests improved localization of the T6SS on the estimated cell boundary of P. aeruginosa constructed using both sources of data compared to using each in isolation.