TABLE 1.
Comparison of different software to analyze growth of multiple microbial cultures growing on an agar plate
| Software | Required hardware costa | End-to-end | Grid flexibility | Corrections | Growth fit | Availability | Installation | Validated for bacteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BaQFA | Inexpensive | Yes | High: any grid | Image stabilization, lighting correction, reference normalization, image renaming | Multiple built-in models Default: Gompertz model |
Open source | Very easy | Yes |
| QFA | Inexpensive | Yes | High: any grid | Lighting correction | Logistic model | Open source | Difficult | No |
| Colony-live | Inexpensive | Yes | Unclear: 32 × 48 grid |
Neighboring correction, maximum growth rate correction | Gompertz model | Upon request | Not tested | Yes |
| YeastXtract | Inexpensive | Yes | Rigid: 8 × 12 grid | Image stabilization, spot area normalization | Logistic model | Upon request | Not tested | No |
| Pyphe | Inexpensive | Yes | Low: few grid possibilities | Spatial correction (including grid normalization and row/column median normalization), correction of artifacts | 2 options: maximum slope, endpoint colony size | Open source | Easy, but permission issues arise | No |
| CellProfiler | NA | No | 8 × 12 grid | Unclear | None | Open source | Very easy | Unclear |
| gitter | NA | No | High; any grid | Global lighting, small rotations, identification threshold | None | Open source | Not tested | Partially |
a
NA, not available (no dedicated hardware setup).