Guideline for image registration

Last updated: 06/05/26

This guide aims to support customers using the Omni kit in registering and merging images. The guide includes instructions for image and experimental requirements, installation, pipeline initiation, parameter selection, evaluation and lastly parameter optimization. Please make sure to read the pipeline requirements before running any experiments.   

Image registration is the process of aligning images acquired at different time points. It is recommended to perform registration to enable local analysis, such as cell classification, of multiple isPLA stains from different cycles, and to facilitate background removal by subtracting autofluorescence channels acquired in a separate cycle. An example of an image produced with the Omni kit and registered with the workflow given in this instruction is shown in Figure 1 above. In short, image registration is performed by selecting a reference image, referred to as a fixed cycle, to which other images, referred to as moving cycle, are transformed. The transformation refers to a spatial mapping of points from the fixed image to the moving image, resulting in every pixel in the fixed image having a corresponding pixel in the moving image.

Contents

1 Pipeline requirements
2 Running the pipeline on Windows
2.1 Running the pipeline for the first time
2.2 Initiating the pipeline
2.3 Manual installation
3 Running the pipeline on mac
3.1 Running the pipeline for the first time
3.1.1 Installing Anaconda
3.1.2 Download Files
3.1.3 Setting up a virtual environment and installing Python packages
3.2 Starting the run on MacBook computers
4 Running the pipeline
5 Evaluating results
6 Fixing poor registration
7 Adapting the scripts
7.1 Changing file format naming
7.2 Adding additional transformations
8 Disclaimer

1. Pipeline requirements

The requirements specified in this section must be met to use the Registration pipeline in this guide.

Requirement 1: Two cycles are required

To use the registration pipeline, it is required to image at least two cycles of the same sample. The second cycle can be of other detection mix or of autofluorescence.

Requirement 2: All slides are stained and imaged similarly

It is important that the following is done the same between images and/or cycles that are registered simultaneously:

• All image regions have the same number of cycles
• All cycles have four channels: (1) one nuclear staining channel, (2) one channel detecting sets A, D or G, (3) one channel detecting sets B, E or H and (4) one channel detecting sets C, F or I. Autofluorescence or alternative cycles also require four channels.[1]
• The filter set order is the same between all images and cycles

Requirement 3: Images are in the correct file format
We recommend working with the following file formats:

• .ome.tif
• .ome.tiff
• .tif
• .tiff
• .btf

The following formats should be compatible with the registration pipeline, but have not yet been fully validated:

• .scn
• .ndpi
• .svs
• .czi

Requirement 4: Image cycles are saved in separate folders

Images acquired for different cycles must be saved in separate folders in the same directory. See an example of file organization at the bottom of this section.

In the examples in Section 4, a main folder ‘Project folder’ has been created in which the subfolders ‘Cycle-1_ABC’, ‘Cycle-2_DEF, ‘Cycle-3_GHI’ and ‘Cycle-4_AF’ sorts Images from the different cycles:

Requirement 6: Image file names must follow the specified format

Image file names must be named according to:

[Image name]_ch[channel index]_tile[tile row index]-[tile column index].[suffix]

Where the different colors specify a format group and brackets specify a variable input. Where the different colors specify a format group and brackets specify a variable input. Channel and tile specifications are optional and should only be used if images are single-channel and/or require stitching. Check below for examples of correct and incorrect image names.

Note that the groups must appear in the exact order shown.

The format groups are:

• Image name: required group that refers to the name of the sample and/or image region. Images for different cycles and/or channels and tiles are sorted and connected by the image name. The registered and merged image will be named using the image name.
  • The input can be written with all symbols except for a hyphen, ‘-‘.
  • The sequences ‘_ch’ and ‘_tile’ cannot be written within the input.
• Channel index: optional group if channels are saved into separate, single-layered gray scale images. The group specifies which channel index the image is for.
  • The group is initialized by ‘_ch’.
  • The first channel must have index zero.
  • The index must be written with numbers.
  • The index can be written with zeros before the actual index number, for example index 1 can be written as ‘_ch1’, ‘_ch01’, ‘_ch001’ and so on.
• Tile row index and tile column index: optional group to specify the tile position for unstitched images. Please note that requirements for image stitching are noted at the end of this section.
  • The group is initialized by ‘_tile’.
  • The first row and column indexes must have index zero.
  • The indexes must be written with numbers.
  • The indexes can be written with zeros before the actual index number, for example the tile in row 1 and column 1 can be written as ‘_tile1-1’, ‘_tile01-01’, ‘_tile001-001’and so on.
• Suffix: required group for file extension, e.g. ‘.tif’.

Examples of correct file names:

‘Experiment1_Slide01.tif’

‘Experiment1_Slide01_tile00-00.tif’

‘Experiment1_Slide01_ch00.tif’

‘Experiment1_Slide01_ch00_tile00-00.tif’

Examples of incorrect file names:

‘Experiment1_Slide01 _tile00-00_ch00.tif’ – Channel and tile specifications are in the wrong order

‘Experiment1_Slide01ch00tile00-00.tif’ – channel and tile specifications are found by ‘_ch’ and ‘_tile’, resulting in ‘ch00tile00-00’ being misinterpreted as part of the image name.

Recommendation 1: Run the pipeline on data with the same panel

Only combine data from one panel per image registration to reduce the risk of mixing up assay names.

Recommendation 2: Image different samples and/or fragmented samples in separate regions

If there are multiple samples on a slide, or if a single sample has been severely fragmented, use several distinct imaging areas instead of one large scan. Smaller scanning areas greatly improve image registration quality.

Recommendation 3: Use a computer with high CPU and RAM

It is recommended to use a computer with high-performance CPU and more RAM. The computer might run out of memory during registration for large images if not enough RAM is available.

Minimal RAM specification: 16GB

Requirement for image stitching:

Stitching is supported for single layered, single channel and non-pyramidal, images of the following format:

• .tif
• .tiff
• .ome.tif
• .ome.tiff
• .btf

[1] Discrepancies between images can be handled by running the pipeline several times. Discrepancies between cycles requires custom scripts.

4.  Running the pipeline

This section provides instructions on how to select parameters for image registration and describes what each parameter means. Please follow the instructions in Sections 2 and 3 before reading this section. Shortly after initiating the scripts as explained in Section 2.2 and 3.2, a pop-up window should appear as shown in Figure 2 (Windows) or Figure 4 (Mac) above.

4.1  Follow Step 1 in the Registration window by clicking on the button ‘Select main folder’. In the file explorer, locate the main folder containing the cycle sub folders with images and click on ‘Select Folder’.

4.2  In the registration window, follow step 2 and select subfolders for each cycle, as shown in Figure 5 below. The cycle refers to the detection mix imaged, for example ‘Cycle ABC’ refers to imaging of ‘Cycle 1/ABC’ instructed in the ‘Instructions for Use’ of the Omni kit.

4.3  Click on the ‘Next’ button or on the ‘Image Selection’ in the menu to the left.

4.4  Follow step 3 by choosing slides to register.

4.5  Click on the ‘Next’ button or on the ‘Parameter Selection’ in the menu to the right.

4.6  Follow step 4 by selecting the correct channel index for each filter set, starting from channel 0, as shown in Figure 7. The filter sets correspond to the filters specified in the Omni kit ‘Instructions for Use’ (table 4), where sets A, D, G are imaged with Cy5, sets B, E, H are imaged with Cy3 and sets C, F and I are imaged with FITC. If alternative filter sets have been used, then specify its corresponding filter set in the list.

4.7  Follow step 5 by selecting the general registration parameters, as shown in Figure 7 and as explained below. In short, select…

… the second cycle for the parameter Fixed cycle.

… Downsample factor 1 for grown cells and downsample factor 2 for tissue.

… Transformation ‘rigid, affine’ for grown cells and ‘rigid, affine, nl’ for tissue.

4.8  If your image names have a tile reference, an additional parameter “Tile overlap [%]”will automatically be added.

Tile overlap: The overlap between tiles in percentage.

4.9  Follow step 6 by specifying image output parameters.

4.10  Follow step 7 by writing the target names for each filter set. As shown in Figure 7 above, the resulting channel name can be seen to the right of the editing box. It should be noted that DAPI channels, AF (Autofluorescence) cycles or additional cycles cannot be edited.

4.11  When all parameters are set, click on the ‘Submit’ button.

a. If a parameter is missing, a pop-up window will specify which ones need to be added, as shown in Figure 9 below.

b. If the software doesn’t succeed in reading pixel sizes, then a dialogue window will appear for user input, as shown in Figure 9 below. Add the pixel size in micrometer in the boxes and then click on ‘Submit’ to continue. Note that pixel width and height are assumed to be the same. Use the ‘Input for all images’ to set a value for all images.

c. If images are deselected due to missing data, an information dialogue window will appear. In the example in Figure 9 below, the images Navinci_exp1_slide5 and Navinci_exp1_slide7 have been deselected due to the pipeline not finding channel index zero. Check the terminal for more information.

When all parameters have been submitted, the terminal and dialogue window will show the registration progress, as shown in Figure 10 below. Note that any errors occurring in the script will be written in the dialogue window and that the script will continue running for the remaining images.

For an image of size ~2 cm², each image takes around 50 minutes. This is a rough estimate and depends on the computer as well as the number of cycles and image size.

4.12  Once the script has finished running for all images, look through the text in the dialogue window to see if everything has been run correctly. An error will be printed in the dialogue window If something has failed. Click on ‘Close Window’ to shut down the terminal and dialogue window.

Multiple folders and files have been created in the subfolder ‘Registration’ in the project folder:

• Registered images: ‘[image]-registered_misPLA.ome.tiff’ files are images containing the DAPI channel from the fixed cycle and all cycles’ isPLA channels.
• Registration control images: ‘[image]-registered_regctrl.ome.tiff’ files are images containing all cycle’s DAPI channels.
• ‘transformations’: a folder containing transformation files for each registration. There is one subfolder per slide and moving cycle, all folder names are written accordingly: ‘[image]-[moved cycle]_to_[fixed cycle]_reg_output’.
• ‘configurations’: ‘.yaml’ configuration set-up files containing parameters and maps for all slides registered
• ‘Stitched’: a folder containing the stitched images before transformation and registration, if stitching has been done. Stitched images will be saved in cycle sub folders.
• ‘Split images’: a folder containing tiled images, if the function ‘Split images’ have been selected in step 4.9. Each registered image will have its own separate sub folder, and each tiled image will be named ‘[registered image name]_tile[index]_[x start position]_[y start position].ome.tiff”.

See section 5 for instructions on how to evaluate the results.

5.  Evaluating results

5.1  Open your preferred image visualization software, QuPath is used in the examples below.

a. Note that the software should be compatible with ‘.ome.tiff’ images and with the file size of your output images.

b. For first-time QuPath users, please check out the QuPath guideline for instructions on how to open images.

5.2  Upload the Registration misPLA and Registration control images as instructed for the software. To evaluate the results, open the Registration control images one at a time.

5.3  Either evaluate the images by looking at all DAPI channels together or by looking at the fixed cycle with the moving cycles one at a time. It is recommended to visualize the channels with complementary colors, as shown in Figure 11 below:

Fixed channel: Cyan

Moving channel: Yellow → green color indicates good alignment

Moving channel: Red → grey color indicates good alignment

Moving channel: Magenta → purple color indicates good alignment

All channels together: white indicates good alignment between all cycles

Note that poor alignment is expected around regions with artefacts and morphological changes, as shown in Figure 12 below. Artefacts that can cause misalignment include:

• Poor tile stitching
• Tissue folds and tears created between cycles
• Local movement of grown cells or regions between cycles
• Staining smears and artefacts in the nuclear staining channel
• Poor focus
• Mounting media bubbles

If the registration control images show overall good nuclei alignment, continue with analysis and exclude regions of poor alignment. Examples of acceptable and poor alignment are shown in Figure 13 below. If the images show poor misalignment, continue with section 6 to optimize parameters and improve registration results.

6.  Fixing poor registration

Important notes before re-running the registration pipeline:

• Images with acceptable alignment can be excluded in the ‘Image Selection’ tab, as explained in step 4.4.
• Re-running the registration of an image will overwrite the old output files. To save old files, make sure to move them to another location or rename them.
• If your images have been stitched within the registration pipeline and you are pleased with the result, you should select the ‘Stitched’ subfolder as project folder to avoid redoing the stitching. This will however save all new files and folders within the new project folder, and old results will be kept in the previously selected folder.

Before testing registration with different parameters, it should be noted that the image registration will be different every time it is run for an image, meaning that faulty registration can sometimes be fixed by simply re-running the pipeline.

If re-running the pipeline did not improve the registration, then please test the following:

• Try registration with a lower downsample factor (if not already set to 1). A lower downsample factor generally results in better registration results. It should be noted that a lower factor requires higher computational capacity and might run for a longer period of time.
• Try registration with simpler transformations:
  • For registration of tissue where the transformations ‘rigid, affine, nl’ have been used, try using ‘rigid, affine’ instead. Removing the non-linear transformation should improve overall alignment, although local deformations will not be accounted for.
  • If transformations ‘rigid, affine’ have been used, try using ‘rigid’ instead.
• Try cropping and/or splitting up your images.

7.  Adapting the scripts

This section provides instructions on how to adapt the script for specific data sets, for example when the file format names do not match the requirements listed in section 1. Caution is advised when modifying the script as such changes may impact its overall functionality.

7.1        Changing file format naming

For users who have downloaded the pipeline as a Windows application, as instructed in Section 2.1, the registration module scripts can be found within the downloaded folder ‘/_internal/registration’.

To change the file format naming, the parameter file_name_pattern at line 409 in ‘registration.reg_classes.py’ must be changed. The following must be met when modifying the parameter:

• Groups must be written in the same order as the file name.
• Each group is written as ([group name], [literal], [regex pattern], [required]):
  • Group name: the name of the group, which can be either “name”, “channel” or “tile”
  • Literal: defines if a literal is used before the group as a separator. If no literal is used, then use an empty string, “”.
  • Regex pattern: A regular expression pattern specifying how the group is identified
  • Required: Boolean value to set if the group is required (‘True’) or optional (‘False’).

Please note that adding groups might require adapting other parts of the script.

As an example, the requirements specified in section 1 results in the following groups:

• Image name:
  • Group name: “name”
  • Literal: “”, referring to no literal specified before the group
  • Regex pattern: “(?:(?!ch|tile).)+?”, which asserts that the groups does not contain the strings ‘ch’ or ‘tile’. All other characters are allowed at any length.
  • Required: True, meaning that there must be a match
• Channel:
  • Group name: “channel”
  • Literal: “_”, meaning that ‘_’ must be added before the group
  • Regex pattern: r”ch\d{2}”, which asserts that the group is initiated by ‘ch’ followed by two digits.
  • Required: False, meaning that the group is optional
• Channel:
  • Group name: “tile”
  • Literal: “_”, meaning that ‘_’ must be added before the group
  • Regex pattern: r”tile\d{2}-\d{2}”, which asserts that the group is initiated by ‘tile’, followed by two digits, a ‘-’ and two digits.
  • , which asserts that the group is initiated by ‘ch’ followed by two numbers.
  • Required: False, meaning that the group is optional

7.2        Adding additional transformations

Additional registration parameters can be added as options in line 344 in ‘reg_classes.py’ found in the subfolder ‘registration’. Multiple parameters are written as a list in the same order as they should be applied. The parameters should be written as strings and must be listed in wsireg.parameter_maps.reg_params, for example:

• ‘similarity’
• ‘fi_correction’
• ‘nl-reduced’
• ‘nl-mid’
• ‘rigid-expanded’
• ‘nl3’
• ‘nl2’

For example, [“rigid”,”affine”,”nl”], as written in line 348 in ‘reg_classes.py’ refers to parameter maps ‘rigid’, ‘affine’ and ‘nl’ being used sequentially.

8.  Disclaimer

This material is provided solely for Navinci product analysis. Any other use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited unless authorized. The material is provided “as is,” without warranties.