Papsynth: simulated bright-field images of cervical smears

In this paper, we present a simulator for bright-field microscope images of “Pap-smears”, which is the most common technique used today for cervical cancer screening. Lacking a ground truth for real images, these realistic synthetic images may be used to tune and validate image analysis and processing algorithms. We demonstrate this for two tasks: uncorrelated noise removal and nucleus segmentation. The simulator is a part of a larger project, aiming at automatic, cost efficient screening for cervical cancer in developing countries.