mcpbeat Sign in

Bio Imaging Mass Cytometry Cell Segmentation Agent Skill

Cell segmentation from multiplexed tissue images. Covers deep learning (Cellpose, Mesmer) and classical approaches for nuclear and whole-cell segmentation. Use when extracting single-cell data from IMC or MIBI images after preprocessing.

1.7k tokens
context cost
SKILL.md, read when the skill is used
3
files
ships runnable scripts
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
132
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill bio-imaging-mass-cytometry-cell-segmentation

What comes with it

3 274 bytes besides the instruction
examples/segment_cells.py
usage-guide.md

The instruction itself

11 sections, as written by the author

Version Compatibility

Reference examples tested with: Cellpose 3.0+, anndata 0.10+, matplotlib 3.8+, numpy 1.26+, pandas 2.2+, scanpy 1.10+, steinbock 0.16+

Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:

  • Python: pip show <package> then help(module.function) to check signatures
  • CLI: <tool> --version then <tool> --help to confirm flags

If code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed

package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.

Cell Segmentation for IMC

"Segment cells from my IMC images" → Identify individual cell boundaries in multiplexed imaging data using deep learning (Cellpose) or watershed-based approaches for single-cell extraction.

  • Python: cellpose.models.Cellpose() for deep learning segmentation
  • CLI: steinbock segment for pipeline-based segmentation

Cellpose Segmentation

from cellpose import models, io
import numpy as np
import tifffile

# Load image
img = tifffile.imread('processed.tiff')

# Extract nuclear channel (e.g., DNA1)
nuclear_channel = img[0]  # Adjust index based on panel

# Initialize Cellpose model
model = models.Cellpose(model_type='nuclei', gpu=True)

# Run segmentation
masks, flows, styles, diams = model.eval(
    nuclear_channel,
    diameter=30,  # Average nucleus diameter in pixels
    flow_threshold=0.4,
    cellprob_threshold=0.0
)

# masks contains integer labels for each cell
print(f'Cells segmented: {masks.max()}')

Whole-Cell Segmentation with Cellpose

# Use membrane marker for whole-cell
membrane_channel = img[1]  # e.g., CD45

# Combine nuclear and membrane for cyto model
model = models.Cellpose(model_type='cyto2', gpu=True)

# Create 2-channel input [membrane, nuclear]
img_input = np.stack([membrane_channel, nuclear_channel])

masks, flows, styles, diams = model.eval(
    img_input,
    channels=[1, 2],  # [membrane, nuclear]
    diameter=50,
    flow_threshold=0.4
)

Mesmer (DeepCell)

from deepcell.applications import Mesmer

# Initialize Mesmer
app = Mesmer()

# Prepare input: (batch, H, W, 2) - [nuclear, membrane]
img_input = np.stack([nuclear_channel, membrane_channel], axis=-1)
img_input = np.expand_dims(img_input, axis=0)

# Segment
predictions = app.predict(
    img_input,
    image_mpp=1.0,  # Microns per pixel
    compartment='whole-cell'  # or 'nuclear'
)

masks = predictions[0, :, :, 0]

steinbock Segmentation

# Using steinbock with Cellpose
steinbock segment cellpose \
    --img processed \
    --model cyto2 \
    --channelwise \
    --nuclear-channel 0 \
    --membrane-channel 1 \
    -o masks

# Using steinbock with DeepCell
steinbock segment deepcell \
    --img processed \
    --nuclear-channel 0 \
    --membrane-channel 1 \
    -o masks

Extract Single-Cell Data

Goal: Convert a segmented cell mask and multi-channel image stack into a per-cell expression matrix suitable for downstream phenotyping and spatial analysis.

Approach: Iterate over regionprops of the label mask, compute mean intensity per channel within each cell's pixels, and collect morphological features (area, centroid, eccentricity) into a structured DataFrame.

from skimage import measure
import pandas as pd

def extract_single_cell_data(img, masks, channel_names):
    '''Extract mean intensity per cell per channel'''

    # Region properties
    props = measure.regionprops(masks)

    # Cell info
    cell_data = []
    intensities = []

    for prop in props:
        # Basic properties
        cell_info = {
            'cell_id': prop.label,
            'area': prop.area,
            'centroid_x': prop.centroid[1],
            'centroid_y': prop.centroid[0],
            'eccentricity': prop.eccentricity
        }
        cell_data.append(cell_info)

        # Mean intensity per channel
        cell_mask = masks == prop.label
        cell_intensities = [img[c][cell_mask].mean() for c in range(len(channel_names))]
        intensities.append(cell_intensities)

    cell_df = pd.DataFrame(cell_data)
    intensity_df = pd.DataFrame(intensities, columns=channel_names)

    return cell_df, intensity_df

cell_info, intensities = extract_single_cell_data(img, masks, channel_names)
print(f'Extracted data for {len(cell_info)} cells')

Quality Control

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def qc_segmentation(img, masks, nuclear_channel_idx=0):
    '''Visualize segmentation quality'''

    fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 3, figsize=(15, 5))

    # Nuclear channel
    axes[0].imshow(img[nuclear_channel_idx], cmap='gray')
    axes[0].set_title('Nuclear Channel')

    # Segmentation masks
    axes[1].imshow(masks, cmap='tab20')
    axes[1].set_title(f'Segmentation ({masks.max()} cells)')

    # Overlay
    axes[2].imshow(img[nuclear_channel_idx], cmap='gray')
    axes[2].contour(masks, colors='red', linewidths=0.5)
    axes[2].set_title('Overlay')

    for ax in axes:
        ax.axis('off')

    plt.tight_layout()
    plt.savefig('segmentation_qc.png', dpi=150)
    plt.close()

    # Statistics
    props = measure.regionprops(masks)
    areas = [p.area for p in props]

    print(f'Cells: {len(props)}')
    print(f'Area: mean={np.mean(areas):.1f}, median={np.median(areas):.1f}')

qc_segmentation(img, masks)

Expand Nuclei to Cells

from skimage.segmentation import expand_labels

# If only nuclear segmentation available, expand to approximate cells
nuclear_masks = masks  # From nuclear segmentation
expanded_masks = expand_labels(nuclear_masks, distance=10)

print(f'Expanded masks from nuclei')

Save Results

import tifffile

# Save masks as labeled image
tifffile.imwrite('cell_masks.tiff', masks.astype(np.uint16))

# Save single-cell data
cell_info.to_csv('cell_info.csv', index=False)
intensities.to_csv('cell_intensities.csv', index=False)

# Create combined AnnData
import anndata as ad

adata = ad.AnnData(X=intensities.values)
adata.var_names = channel_names
adata.obs = cell_info

# Add spatial coordinates
adata.obsm['spatial'] = cell_info[['centroid_x', 'centroid_y']].values

adata.write('imc_segmented.h5ad')
  • data-preprocessing - Prepare images before segmentation
  • phenotyping - Classify segmented cells
  • spatial-analysis - Analyze cell spatial relationships

Other skills for the same job

different authors, same section of the catalogue
Canvas Design
by anthropics
vendor ×16

Create beautiful visual art in .png and .pdf documents using design philosophy. You should use this skill when the user asks to create a poster, piece of art, design, or other static piece. Create original visual designs, never copying existing artists' work to avoid copyright violations.

3k tokens
Algorithmic Art
by anthropics
vendor ×14

Creating algorithmic art using p5.js with seeded randomness and interactive parameter exploration. Use this when users request creating art using code, generative art, algorithmic art, flow fields, or particle systems. Create original algorithmic art rather than copying existing artists' work to avoid copyright violations.

4.9k tokens scripts
Image Enhancer
by frostant
×6

Improves the quality of images, especially screenshots, by enhancing resolution, sharpness, and clarity. Perfect for preparing images for presentations, documentation, or social media posts.

635 tokens
JSON Canvas
by ZhanlinCui
×4

Create and edit JSON Canvas files (.canvas) with nodes, edges, groups, and connections. Use when working with .canvas files, creating visual canvases, mind maps, flowcharts, or when the user mentions Canvas files in Obsidian.

3.5k tokens
X Article Publisher
by ZhanlinCui
×4

Publish Markdown articles to X (Twitter) Articles editor with proper formatting. Use when user wants to publish a Markdown file/URL to X Articles, or mentions "publish to X", "post article to Twitter", "X article", or wants help with X Premium article publishing. Handles cover image upload and converts Markdown to rich text automatically.

3.1k tokens scripts zh
Video Downloader
by CommandCodeAI
×4

Downloads videos from YouTube and other platforms for offline viewing, editing, or archival. Handles various formats and quality options.

671 tokens
High End Visual Design
by lornshrimp
×3

Teaches the AI to design like a high-end agency. Defines the exact fonts, spacing, shadows, card structures, and animations that make a website feel expensive. Blocks all the common defaults that make AI designs look cheap or generic.

2.6k tokens
Histolab
by christophacham
×3

Lightweight WSI tile extraction and preprocessing. Use for basic slide processing tissue detection, tile extraction, stain normalization for H&E images. Best for simple pipelines, dataset preparation, quick tile-based analysis. For advanced spatial proteomics, multiplexed imaging, or deep learning pipelines use pathml.

5.2k tokens

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take biotender-max/bio-imaging-mass-cytometry-cell-segmentation from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.