High-throughput imaging of zebrafish embryos using a linear-CCD-based flow imaging system.

High-throughput imaging and screening is essential for biomedical research and drug discovery using miniature model organisms such as zebrafish. This study introduces a high-speed imaging system which illuminates zebrafish embryos flowing through a capillary tube with a sheet of light and captures them using a linear charge-coupled device (CCD). This system can image dozens of zebrafish embryos per second. An image algorithm was developed to recognize each embryo and to perform automatic analysis. We distinguished dead and living embryos according to the gray level distribution and conducted statistics of morphological characteristics of embryos at different growing stages.