The Use of Fractal Analysis for the Quantification of Oocyte Cytoplasm Morphology

Abstract

The present study aimed at verifying whether immature cat oocytes with morphologic irregular cytoplasm display self-similar features to be analytically described by fractal analysis. Original images of oocytes collected by ovariectomy were acquired at a final magnification of 400 X with a CCD video camera connected to an optic microscope. After grey thresholding segmentation of cytoplasm, image profiles were submitted to fractal analysis by three different methods which yielded divergent fractal dimension (FD) values. The highest FD of 1.91 was measured on grey-dark cytoplasm characterized by highly connected network of lipid droplets and intracellular membranes. The fractal analysis provided an effective quantitative descriptor of the real cytoplasm morphology, without introducing any bias or shape approximation, which could contribute to an objective and reliable classification of feline oocytes.