A fast interval processor (FIP) for cervical prescreening.

A cervical prescreening device (FIP: fast interval processor) designed to scan and classify a slide-mounted specimen within two minutes is described. The image analysis techniques are based directly on the MRC Cerviscan equipment with the minimal conversion needed to adapt these techniques for interval processing. A high scanning rate is achieved by scanning with a charge-coupled diode linear image sensor along one axis and by stepping the microscope stage continuously along the other axis. High processing rates are achieved using an asynchronous pipeline approach. Operations on pixels are carried out by parallel dedicated hardware units, while operations on intervals (segments) are carrie out using a dual microprocessing configuration. A determined attempt has been made to minimize the cost of the components required. Preliminary results showing scanning and processing performance are given.