Is anyone familiar with Image J from the nih website? http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/

I would like to know the best way to analyze cells on immunocytochemistry-stained slides (using ABC method). This program seems to be able to give intensity of staining somehow so that I could interpret my staining in more that just a qualifying manner.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Thanks!!

cooper said:

This program seems to be able to give intensity of staining somehow so that I could interpret my staining in more that just a qualifying manner.

Any program will give you precise results, but on my mind, you can only get semi-quantitative data from IHC, so that this precision will not have any signification.
Conclusion : I would not expect any precise quantitative data from IHC, whatever the program used...

I believe it would be more accurate to use fluorescent staining to accurately quantify your signal as you can then use Image J to quantify pixel intensity or relative pixel intensity in each filed of interest.

With the ABC staining however, you could quantify positive expression by calculating the area percentage and the mean intensity of each labeled antigen in several microscopic
fields. The means of the all the fields can then calculated.