Abstract
In order to facilitate the extraction of quantitative data from live cell image sets, automated image analysis methods are needed. This paper presents an introduction to the general principle of an overlap cell tracking software developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This cell tracker has the ability to track cells across a set of time lapse images acquired at high rates based on the amount of overlap between cellular regions in consecutive frames. It is designed to be highly flexible, requires little user parameterization, and has a fast execution time.