Particle Detection on Election Microscopy Micrographs Using Multi-Classifier Systems

Abstract

The determination of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of biological macromolecules at different configurations can be very important for understanding biological processes at the molecular level. The detection of individual particles from electron microscopy (EM) micrographs turns into a major labor-intensive bottleneck, when the number of particles needed starts to exceed a few tens of thousand molecular images. Multi-classifier systems have been widely investigated as tools for performing complex classifying tasks. In this work, we investigate the adequacy of using multi-classifier systems to detect particles on electron microscopy micrographs. In order to do so, we compare the performance of five algorithms for generating individual classifiers and three other ones for multi-classifier algorithms. Such results are also compared with others found in the literature. In terms of results, the multi-classifier systems generated show larger accuracy (correct classification) and lower false positive and negative rates.